RECENT NEWS

Steel erection and metal deck flooring in progress on the south portion of the new wing at Victoria Hospital, Kircaldy, Fife.

Questioning patients recently in hospital on elements such as ward overcrowding, the standard of lighting, potential noise distraction to nursing or clinical staff, and whether flooring was safe, will form part of a six-year research project led by the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR) and the University of York aimed at improving patient safety across the NHS.

IHEEM has been granted a further five-year licence to register engineers at three levels – Engineering Technician, Incorporated Engineer, and Chartered Engineer.

A further category of membership – University Affiliate – is being launched by the Institute, aimed at the engineering departments of universities, primarily to provide a link between academia and industry.

IHEEM is appealing for volunteers to fulfil a number of important roles, including mentoring less experienced colleagues to assist in their professional development. Chris Parker, the Institute’s recruitment/membership manager, explains.

With recent news of cases of Legionella at an East Kent hospital, a one-day workshop on “Ventilation Systems and water systems” being staged at Dublin’s Croke Park Stadium on 7 October, could hardly have come at a more appropriate time.

The latest developments and issues in the cleanroom sector, from energy consumption and “greener” cleanrooms to the latest filtration standards and regulatory approval guidelines, will be the focus of an IHEEM-supported seminar being staged by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) on 30 September at the organisation’s London headquarters in Birdcage Walk (pictured).

MTX Contracts has completed the remodelling and installation of a single ultra-clean operating theatre and recovery area at Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot for the Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Construction of the new Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) and the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital is now complete.

A new device able to provide an isolated electrical supply in hospital rooms, without the need for central isolated power supply/uninterruptible power supply (IPS/UPS) units, has been invented by the principal physicist at Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust.

UK healthcare consultancy MJ Medical has been selected, along with its Lebanese partners, as lead design consultant for the consortium that will design, build and equip three new 400-bed general teaching hospitals in Baghdad, Diyala and Diwaniya in Iraq, in a US$400 million project.

Recognised as a centre of excellence for cancer and blood disorder treatment, The Queen’s Centre for Oncology and Haematology at Castle Hill Hospital, Cottingham, in East Yorkshire, has now secured a leading architectural award.

The new Akerman Road Heath Centre, NHS Lambeth’s latest NHS LIFT scheme, has been submitted for planning approval.

Latest figures from the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA)’s annual PEAT assessments show the environment of inpatient units has improved and high standards of food, and privacy and dignity, have been maintained across the NHS over the past year.

Medical lighting specialist Brandon Medical has joined forces with construction company Willmott Dixon to help create a sustainable, low carbon healthcare centre within the BRE Innovation Park in Watford.

Owners and operators of NHS buildings over 10 years old are being encouraged to participate in a research project, “Making existing healthcare buildings sustainable”, that will gauge how “sustainably” the buildings are operating, identify changes in thinking on sustainable building design and operation over the past decade, and determine how the NHS estate can be made “greener” in future.

A presentation by NHS Employers entitled: Looking to the future of the workforce in estates and FM will be among highlights of the 2009 Healthcare Facilities Consortium conference, taking place at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium from 16-17 September.

GS1 UK, the independent global supply chain data standards and solutions organisation, has announced that NHS Supply Chain has signed up to the GS1 UK Data Pool to synchronise product data with its suppliers.

Mansell’s Ringwood office will begin main works this autumn under a £4 million, 40-week contract to deliver a new entrance and atrium at Poole General Hospital for Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

cfes Medical Construction has been selected as preferred contractor for the design, build and commissioning of a new sterile services department (SSD) for Yeovil District Hospital (YDH) NHS Foundation Trust.