The clinical consequences of pulse oximeter sensor error are discussed by Dr Geoff Mathews BSc (Hons) PhD, managing director of The Electrode Company.

Ian Hinitt, deputy director of estates, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Department of Built Environment, University of Central Lancashire, and Dr Catherine Noakes, AMIMechE, Pathogen Control Engineering Research Group, University of Leeds School of Civil Engineering, discuss whether infection control can be improved by applying physical barriers and mixed mode ventilation, with particular reference to a proposed pilot project at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

At the Healthcare Estates conference, consulting engineer, Malcolm Thomas, the main author of the 2021 version of HTM 03-01, Specialist Ventilation for Healthcare Premises, explained the background to, and aims behind, the HTM’s revision.

Last June’s Grenfell Tower fire will sadly be remembered for many years. Speaking in a timely address at October’s Healthcare Estates 2017 conference, Phil Gibbs, Healthcare Partnerships officer at London Fire Brigade, took a broad-ranging look at ‘Cladding on hospital premises’.

With the way in which surplus NHS land is being redeveloped changing, Howard Williams and Paul Burley, Partners in the Healthcare team at chartered surveyors and property consultants, Montagu Evans, argue that the value of the NHS estate must be ‘protected and used to benefit the service itself – not as a political pawn to achieve other public sector objectives to the detriment of healthcare’.

A new 28-bedded ‘concept ward’ combining single-bedded en-suite rooms with four-bed bays, built by Health Spaces at James Paget University Hospital, will be used both to house patients while RAAC panel remediation is undertaken, and to enable the Trust operating the hospital to evaluate the ‘pros and cons’ of single-bedded rooms versus multi-bed patient accommodation.

At October’s Healthcare Estates 2023 conference, offsite manufacturer, McAvoy, held a roundtable to which it invited a panel of UK industry experts – all from the healthcare sector – to explore the topic ‘How can decanting assist with the current challenges NHS Trusts are facing with the provision of new facilities?’, with a view to identifying some solutions. The company’s head of Design and Technical services, Martin Harvey, reports on an interesting discussion.

In this article, Greg Rankin, CEO at ‘pioneer in the rapid testing industry’, Hydrosense, looks to raise awareness of some of the key areas of Legionella exposure in hospitals and other healthcare settings, noting that this risk is ‘just as relevant’ for new construction sites, refurbishments, and even fully operational, fit-for-purpose buildings.

Kevin Brown, managing director at BlueSky Wireless, and ICON’s Richard Salvage, highlight ‘the potentially catastrophic consequences’ of unattended alarms in healthcare. Here they explore why messaging, automation, and monitoring are crucial factors in mitigating risk.

Timo Ohtonen, managing director and owner of the Finnish health tech company, PPO-Elektroniikka Oy, explains the critical importance of electrical safety within Group 2 healthcare premises, focusing on medical IT systems employing insulation monitoring (IMD).

Jason Hartigan, Specification Sales manager at Wilo UK, discusses the need to correctly specify and maintain pumps in healthcare settings, and describes a recent pump upgrade project that Wilo undertook at the Sunderland Royal Hospital.

Some of the key infection risks posed by water systems in hospitals and other healthcare facilities were discussed at the Infection Prevention Society’s Infection Prevention 2024 annual conference at the ICC, Birmingham. One of the topics to generate considerable debate was the ‘pros and cons’ of removing washbasins from rooms housing ‘high-risk’ patients where risk assessment indicates too high an infection risk from outlets and associated drainage. Louise Frampton, the editor of HEJ’s sister magazine, The Clinical Services Journal, reports.

An estimated one million patient samples are transported by pneumatic tube systems in British hospitals every week. Ensuring that these samples and other critical items arrive at their intended destination quickly and without fail is the job of the companies that supply and install these increasingly complex networks of plastic tubes. Here, Tom Hughes, managing director of Aerocom (UK), explains how pneumatic tube systems work, and how they have become the ‘invisible heroes’ behind driving efficiencies in the nation’s health service.

A specialist in the hire and sale of chillers and boiler hire, and the provision of smaller temporary HVAC units, considers some of the key challenges posed by the F-Gas Regulation, and highlights the importance of forward planning when considering the mobilisation of chillers and boilers in healthcare settings.

IHEEM-registered AE (Water), Steve Mount, reviews the recently produced British Standard for risk assessment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other waterborne pathogens in healthcare premises, and the challenges facing organisations in complying with it.

When supplying and installing medical supply units it is vital to ensure the equipment meets the latest standards and is being used in the type of configuration it was designed for. Graeme Dell, managing director of bedhead trunking specialist Cableflow International, examines the potential pitfalls.

Off-site manufacture of energy centre systems could help the NHS improve its track record of delivering major projects on time and on budget, argues Murdo MacDonald, major projects manager for Spirax Sarco.

A sustainable approach to the design of healthcare premises is essential if the business effectiveness of facilities is to be maximised through their whole life. This report, by Phil Nedin, president of IHEEM and Arup global healthcare business leader, is based on a paper he presented at this year’s annual general meeting of the Institute.

Fire alarm system maintenance regimes need not be complex. In this article, Tim Wilcox, fire systems inspector for Static Systems Group, provides a guide to the tasks, requirements and regulations associated with the maintenance of fire alarm systems.

With all aspects of hospital hygiene under the spotlight, Jonathan Baillie examines the important new role of Authorising Engineer (Decontamination), explains, with the help of experienced sterilisation/decontamination specialist Mick Compton, how the role developed, and discusses the key part that IHEEM will play as the only current UK institute with the authority to register AE (D)s as a mark of their competence and skills.