RECENT NEWS

A new website has been launched to promote the use of videoconferencing technology across the NHS. The new site provides an essential source of information and best practice and is designed to offer a one-stop-shop for advice and guidance to any NHS organisation investing in video conferencing technology.

The Leonardo Power Quality Initiative (LPQI) has launched an interactive Training Centre offering on-line training modules covering both practical and theoretical aspects of Power Quality for electrical engineers, facilities managers and M&E designers.

Sheffield-based B.Braun Medical has been named preferred bidder for a second, multi-million pound NHS contract to help reduce the risk of infection in operating theatres. The company will be working in a joint venture with eight Hospital Trusts in the Birmingham area to bring the decontamination of surgical instruments up to the latest European standards.

Further building upon its strong reputation in the healthcare sector, the Newcastle office of international project manager and cost consultant Faithful & Gould has recently been awarded a £3 million contract to build a primary healthcare facility in County Durham for one of the county’s busiest practices.

IHEEM recently agreed approval procedures for seminars and courses.

The Engineering Technology Board has announced that the entry fee for Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer and Engineering Technician Registration will be waived for all new registrants during 2006.

RCEA (Sussex) draws members from all over Sussex and consists of retired Chartered or Incorporated Engineers of any discipline who have held senior posts in an engineering environment and who have degree (or equivalent) qualifications.

In your September 2005 edition, you were kind enough to publish something of a cri de coeur, from me which outlined some identified problems (for which we have proven solutions) that were not being addressed despite the massive investment in new healthcare premises.

The 2006 membership fees of IHEEM are as follows. Members are urged to ensure all outstanding fees are paid without delay.

In 2005, IHEEM welcomed over 160 new members, topping the recruitment success of the year before, writes Tammy Simmons, the Institute’s recruitment manager.

Mansell has recently been confirmed as a Company Affiliate of IHEEM. As a construction company with many years experience of working in both the acute and primary healthcare sectors, Mansell understands the issues which affect the modern hospital and primary care facility environments, along with the pressures that come from constructing and maintaining them.

Designed for aspiring directors and senior managers, the Development Centre Programme supports the FM Workforce Strategy published by NHS Estates. The Programme is also approved, and supported, by the Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management (IHEEM) and the Health Facilities Management Association (HeFMA).

Immediate and long-term assistance is vital in helping disaster-affected communities rebuild their lives. Without access to well-trained and dedicated staff, aid agencies cannot carry out their life-saving relief and development work.

Further seminars in an IHEEM series on the New Medical Equipment Installation Guidance Notes (MEIGan) will be held on 19 January at The IOM3, London, and the Great Barr Hotel, Birmingham, on 9 March. Much “must have” information will be presented.

Members of the London Branch of IHEEM recently were given a presentation by Andrew Tweedie on cleanroom environments.

IHEEM’s 2005 Healthcare Estates Conference and Exhibition which took place in November at the Harrogate International Centre was the best ever in the history of the event, being heralded a success by delegates, speakers and exhibitors alike.

The University Hospital Birmingham has recently opened its doors to a new groundbreaking £4.5 million state-ofthe- art unit to aid the fight against cancer. Patients visiting the new West End development, based at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, will benefit from rapid, local access to the latest diagnostic technology and from two additional Radiotherapy linear accelerators.

Solray Radiant Panels from Comyn Ching & Co have been installed in a recently opened £40 million extension to the Royal Preston Hospital, part of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust. The panels are designed to heat the space with optimum efficiency, running on the new building’s low temperature hot water heating circuit.

Now available from the Heating and Ventilating Contractors’ Association (HVCA) is its Guide to Good Practice: Internal Cleanliness and Ventilation Systems. Released at a time when the air quality expectations of building occupiers is higher than ever, this comprehensive guide to ventilation hygiene should be essential reading for anyone working with building ventilation, and therefore an invaluable aid to specifiers, consultants and legislators to ensure that ventilation systems are properly maintained.