I write to comment on the news story, “Estates manager convicted of £245,000 fraud” (HEJ – May 2010). I found the headline a little sensationalist, and think that we need to take stock of where the NHS and IHEEM members are as regards qualifications.

Dale Power Solutions (referred to incorrectly in the May 2010 issue of HEJ as “Dale Erskine Power Solutions”) says its E Series UPS 1 integrated UPS and generator solutions provide “no-break” power, protecting users against costly outages and downtime.

Some of the measures that EFM personnel can take to further reduce their estates’ carbon footprint at a time when pressure to cut energy consumption must be balanced both against the requirement to create the best possible patient environment, and new medical technology that may require substantial energy to operate, were the focus of a recent IHEEM carbon reduction seminar in London.

Simon Burns, Minister of State for Health, has been invited to deliver the keynote speech on 1 November at this year’s IHEEM Conference in Manchester. MP for Chelmsford from June 1987 – April 1997, for West Chelmsford from May 1997 to April 2010, and elected as Chelmsford’s MP once again at last year’s General Election, the Minister has been active in politics since 1970.

Locking and security systems supplier ASSA believes “imminent cutbacks in NHS budgets, with longer patient waiting times, higher staff turnover, and more temporary workers”, will create tensions that may increase security risks to patients, employees, and valuable assets.

IHEEM members will be eligible for the same discounted rate as IMechE members at a seminar being staged by the latter at its London offices on 18 May (which the Institute is supporting) that will examine all aspects of water collection, storage, distribution, and use, including the challenges of growing future demand, and the implications for health and healthcare as resources become scarcer.

Following its successful participation in the same event last November, IHEEM will again be involved in the National Engineering and Construction Recruitment Exhibition, to be held on 6 and 7 May at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre.

The importance of properly identifying, assessing, and managing risk in all areas of engineering practice, the fact that genuine innovation is almost impossible without a certain element of risktaking, and the need to acknowledge and respond to public concerns, however much some may be ill-founded, over the risks inherent in technological and engineering advances, are highlighted in a new risk guidance document, Guidance on Risk for the Engineering Profession,

A-Gas International (HEJ – May 2010), one of the largest providers of specialist industrial gases and chemicals, is set to “execute a rapid expansion strategy in the UK and internationally” after securing a significant investment from mid-market private equity firm LDC, in a deal worth £70 million.

Bill Reeves BEng, MSc, CEng, MIET, MIHEEM, Electrical Infrastructure and AE at Eta Projects, explains the value of the electrical AE, and outlines the extensive duties that the role demands in hospitals and other healthcare settings.

Michaela Sheahan, senior researcher at Hassell, explains how the practice collaborated with The University of Queensland, to understand where and how digital consultations were undertaken in Australia in 2020.

Three of eight oxygen concentrators specially assembled in Northern Ireland at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’s first wave have recently been flown to India to help hospitals there struggling with oxygen supply

Andrew Steel FIHEEM, reportedly one of the UK’s longest established specialist air hygiene and water treatment solutions providers, looks at some of the proposed changes in the guidance on ventilation systems in a revised version of HTM 03-01.

With recent Association of British Insurers (ABI) fire loss figures reportedly showing “a picture of worsening public fire protection in the UK”, Tom Welland, fire services manager at fire safety consultancy Fireco, asks if, at a time of tough budgetary constraints, those responsible for fire safety in the health service are being encouraged to follow the principle of reducing risk to levels “as low as reasonably practicable” (ALARP)?

In an edited version of a paper presented at the IHEA (Institute of Hospital Engineering Australia) 60th National Conference 2009, Stewart Hayes, principal consultant at Jakeman Business Solutions, argues that, with “traditional” means of purchasing and maintaining critical hospital infrastructure systems “becoming less viable”,

Risk of explosion and fire in operating theatres used to be significant. For this Health Estate Journal ‘Then and now’ feature, Mike Arrowsmith BSc (Hons) CEng FIMechE FIHEEM, technical editor, provides commentary on an article which was published in December 1945 in the second issue of The Hospital Engineer, a publication – then taking the form of a newsletter – of The Institution of Hospital Engineers. The 1945 article was formed from a short paper read at an Institution branch meeting, and a slightly amended version of the article text follows the commentary.

According to steam system specialist, Spirax Sarco, ‘condensate contains about a quarter of the energy of the steam from which it came – a significant amount of heat available to an energy centre’.

While fire and rescue service personnel, the Government, those responsible for fire safety in the healthcare sector, the Health and Safety Executive, fire and rescue services, and indeed fire alarm and detection equipment manufacturers, must be pleased that the number of false fire alarms continues to fall, fire services still attended just under 585,000 fires or false alarm incidents across Great Britain in 2011/12.

A fire safety consultant argues that to minimise the risk of fire in healthcare facilities, incorporating good fire safety measures early in the design process must be a priority.

Christine Lawlor, the deputy radiopharmacy manager and a senior clinical technologist in nuclear medicine at Lincoln County Hospital, who has worked at the healthcare facility for over 10 years, reports on a scheme initiated last December which is seeing all recyclable waste removed from the radiopharmacy’s ‘offensive waste’ stream, in the process reducing costs, benefiting the environment, and contributing towards the sustainability goals of the NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy for England.