Paul Moore, managing director of standby power specialist, Dieselec Thistle, explains the business-critical nature of standby power systems in a hospital setting, and the specification criteria that should be considered to ensure that the installation meets the needs of the building, and takes account of its surroundings.

In an article first published in the September 2012 edition of The Australian Hospital Engineer, Carl Sachs, managing director of falls prevention specialist, Workplace Access & Safety, explains how and why ‘the most popular safety-related Australian Standard of all time’, AS1657, was recently revised and put out for consultation.

With a high quality treatment environment acknowledged to significantly speed the recovery of those suffering from mental illness, and the Government recognising the need to update older, outdated facilities.

Colin Lawson, head of sales and marketing at Tamlite Lighting, argues that when selecting new lighting for healthcare facilities, estates and facilities managers need to make ‘smart, well-informed decisions’ in order to balance energy saving with patient comfort.

VINCI Park says it ‘understands that a hospital car park needs to balance the demands of patients, visitors, and staff without compromising emergency vehicles’ access to A&E’.

With decontamination of medical devices very much in the news recently, an IHEEM seminar scheduled for January will tackle this important topic in detail.

A recent Soil Association survey saw nearly a third of the 1,000 patients questioned about the food they had received during a recent hospital stay report that it was so bad that, at times, they could not recognise what was on their plate (HEJ – September 2011).

According to Ian Hopkins, a director of ENER-G Combined Power – which has delivered more than 50 CHP-led energy services contracts within the healthcare sector, having, for the past 30 years, designed and manufactured CHP systems at its global headquarters and R&D centre in Salford – ‘the energy cost and carbon-saving benefits of combined heat and power are difficult to match where there is a large heating/cooling demand over extended periods’.

Paul Campbell, commercial marketing manager at British Gypsum, explains the role of plaster and drylining solutions in creating a healthcare environment conducive to patient recovery.

The latest nurse call systems enable healthcare facilities to incorporate a wealth of other functions, as providers increasingly look to connect up to other infrastructure to improve efficiency, provide better care, and enable detailed monitoring of staff response times.

Hospital room designs make a significant difference to the likelihood of infection being spread through person-to-person contact between medics and patients, University of Leeds research reveals.

Mitie’s pest control business has introduced a new drain survey service specifically to identify pest breaches and infestations that would not ordinarily be detected in clients’ pipes and sewers.

What are the best methods for monitoring hospital water systems to prevent contamination by waterborne pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Legionella?

The use of colour in the healthcare built environment to optimise patient outcomes is hugely important – and has been emphasised for many years. For this Health Estate Journal ‘Then and now’ feature focusing on the subject of colour, Nicholas Marshall provides an introduction to an article which was published in July 1950 in The Hospital Engineer, the official journal of The Institution of Hospital Engineers (now IHEEM). The 1950 article was formed from a talk given to the Institution by A.R. Barlow Esq and has been slightly amended for publication in HEJ.

Relatively small investment in modern technology can significantly improve security in healthcare, says Alan Hazell, UK sales manager for leading electronic security solutions provider Secom plc.

In its development of cancer treatment services, Belfast City Hospital Trust has installed a vacuum drainage system for the control and containment of radioactive therapeutic waste.

Health Estate Journal looks at the role of the newly-formed Modern Built Environment Knowledge Transfer Network (MBE KTN).

The pandemic has further highlighted our concerns about the ‘health’ of our built environments. ‘Next generation’ building energy management technology can help, explains a senior Design partner – Healthcare, at Trend Control Systems.

The updated version of the A Healthcare Engineering Roadmap For Delivering Net Zero Carbon document, seeks to help NHS Trusts meet the Net Zero carbon targets set out in the NHS strategy.

Angelo Giambrone,at Spirax Sarco UK, explores how decontamination leads and Authorising Engineers can drive improvements in steam quality to deliver reliable and consistent sterilisation of reusable medical devices.