FEATURE ARTICLES

Public-private partnerships are once again being touted as a means of bringing about much-needed investment in health infrastructure, particularly when it comes to serving local health needs. Here, Sarah Beaumont-Smith, UK strategy director of Fulcrum Infrastructure Group and chair of both the Neighbourhood Health Forum and The LIFT Council, discusses the past, present and future of neighbourhood health delivery.

Healthcare relocations bring with them a host of challenges. Here, Jenny Thorncroft, director, JTS Relocations, looks at how, when managing relocations within live healthcare environments, communication and partnership between estates teams and other stakeholders can minimise disruption, support staff wellbeing, and ultimately help protect patient experience and continuity of care during periods of organisational change.

A water system affected by stagnation risks transforming into a rich biological habitat for opportunistic pathogens. Here, Holger Eggert, head of product management and business development at Aqua free Group, looks in depth at why stagnation remains one of healthcare’s most underestimated risks and what estates teams need to do in order to prevent it.

Michael Goodman, senior key accounts manager at Clevertronics, explores the importance of emergency and exit lighting and how approaches such as smart monitoring, long life batteries, energy efficiency, BMS integration, and sustainable design are elevating these systems from regulatory compliance tools to essential pillars of resilient healthcare facilities.

Luis González Sterling, co-founder of Argola Arquitectos, explains how the transformation of one of Spain’s largest hospitals exemplifies how contemporary healthcare architecture can integrate advanced medical functionality with sustainable design principles while maintaining operational continuity.

At IHEEM’s annual Wales Regional Conference at ICC Wales, Jason Yi, associate director and healthcare business leader for global consultancy Arup, and assistant project manager and successful Arup apprentice Kate Yeomans (pictured), discussed the importance of private sector apprenticeship programs in bringing young people into the healthcare sector. HEJ editor Matt Seex reports.

As NHS estates face increasing operational pressure, emergency lighting has evolved far beyond a compliance requirement. P4 explores how self-testing technology, intelligent monitoring, and connected emergency lighting systems are helping healthcare organisations improve resilience, reduce maintenance burdens, and support compliance with BS 5266.

Medical emergency communications still rely on single channel systems vulnerable to a single point of failure. James Bushell, head of product at Critico, explains why communication resilience must be considered with the same engineering discipline applied to other critical services.

With NHS estates facing mounting maintenance backlogs, limited capital funding, and rising demand for services, making better use of existing space has never been more important. Tony Booty, director at Abintra, explains how, by combining occupancy sensors, environmental monitoring, and strategic estate planning, healthcare organisations can uncover hidden capacity and improve efficiency without costly new developments.

The urgency to shift care into community settings to support the NHS –while delivering value for public funds – is clear. Tom Howells, board director and national head of healthcare at Pulse Consult, examines why the shift from treatment to preventative care is integral, what delivery success looks like on the ground, and the estate and operational design components required to enable it.

In this practice-led piece, written from the perspective of recurring patterns seen across NHS estates programmes, construction consultancy Gleeds’ head of healthcare Andy McNulty and healthcare sector lead (South West) Simon Yeo argue that, rather than simply through strategy documents and national programmes, the future of the NHS estate is actually being shaped by the thousands of decisions made every day by estates leaders responding to the operational realities of healthcare.

Staff parking is an increasingly difficult area for estates teams to manage, particularly at a time where space is at a premium and simply building new car parks is not a viable option. Here, Ciara Spreadbury, business development & account manager at Mobile Worker Plus – creator of permit and pass management software OCTOPASS – looks at how digital permit systems can help NHS Trusts manage busy hospital sites, reduce unnecessary journeys, and improve the experience for staff.

Architecture should actively promote health, not just treat illness. By integrating outdoor spaces, healthy choices, education, and co-located non-clinical services, we can embed prevention into care settings. However, this requires both bold leadership and capital project reform, as Matt Griffiths, health sector director at Kier, explains.

As hospitals continue to digitise clinical processes, the promise of faster, safer care increasingly depends on how well digital tools align with day-to-day operations. Vicky Morley, senior clinical advisor at Systematic, explores how fragmented operational systems create hidden friction in hospitals, and how better alignment between digital platforms and frontline operations can streamline care delivery and improve patient flow.

According to the WHO, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a growing threat to global health – one that is placing populations at heightened risk. Paul Owen, global business unit manager – healthcare & life sciences at Mueller Europe, discusses how built environment strategic planning and estates teams can help to manage this growing crisis.

Following a busy day of networking, keynotes, and meeting with exhibitors, delegates to the IHEEM Wales Regional Conference 2026 made their way to the Celtic Manor Resort Hotel for the 2026 IHEEM Wales Regional Awards presentation.

On 6-7 May, IHEEM, with the Welsh Branch and NHS Wales, Shared Services Partnership, Specialist Estates Services, held its annual Wales Regional Conference at ICC Wales. This year, the event explored solutions for building resilient healthcare estates, managing ageing infrastructure to reduce the risk of critical system failures, and improving resilience and response to outages and emergencies – topics discussed in a conference keynote delivered by Jacqueline Totterdell, director general for health and social services and NHS Wales chief executive. HEJ editor Matt Seex reports.

At Starkstrom’s state-of-the-art demonstration and training facility, the latest vital infrastructure and new technologies can be explored, touched, and configured – helping to visualise and optimise the operating theatres of the future.

NHS & FM commercial advisor James Saunders examines common pitfalls in NHS outsourcing relationships and offers practical recommendations to avoid them.

Given that delivering and maintaining safe and efficient environments is absolutely paramount, the obvious solution to tired and expired flooring would seem to be full replacement. However, this can be extremely expensive, and estates managers ought to consider the many advantages of restoration rather than replacement, as Simon Testa, managing director at resilient floor restoration specialist Stainbusters Cleaning and Hygiene, explains.