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Preparing your estate for summer heat

Mike Elver, Healthcare Sector account manager at Andrews Sykes Hire, discusses the importance of ensuring that healthcare estates are well prepared for the summer heat.

Aremarkable number of people move around healthcare facilities every day, with the NHS dealing with over one million patients every 36 hours, and an estimated 1.4 million staff working within the sector. With such a vast number of people spending time within healthcare buildings, it is essential that estates personnel are well prepared when it comes to effective temperature control. 

Hospitals and treatment centres may be fitted with fixed air-conditioning, but the efficiency of these solutions comes down to a number of factors. If a system is relatively old, it will naturally be less effective than a newer solution that features all of the latest technology. However, all air-conditioning systems can be put under pressure when presented with an increased heat load, whether as a result of a rise in the number of patients and visitors, the evolving use of new medical technology, or the change in use of areas adapted to meet modern practices, standards of privacy, and hygiene. Changes in these areas, or from the rising ambient temperatures since the original cooling load was calculated, may cause significant issues. 

Inefficient air-conditioning can not only result in patient discomfort, but can also cause issues with the effective functioning of equipment and support services such as pathology laboratories, storage of pharmaceuticals, or the support of IT server rooms. While it is difficult to estimate the financial cost to patient care, overheating equipment can lead to periods of downtime, with opportunity costs for a single operating theatre estimated to equate to thousands of pounds per day. 

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Upcoming Events

The Fire Safety Event 2024

National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham
30th April - 2 May 2024

Wales regional conference, exhibition and awards dinner 2024

International Conference Centre (ICC) Newport
28th - 29th May 2024

NAHFO National Conference 2024

Crowne Plaza Newcastle Upon Tyne
3rd - 5th June 2024

Design in Mental Health 2024

Manchester Central
4th - 5th June 2024

InstallerSHOW 2024

National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham
25th - 27th June

Healthcare Estates 2024

Manchester Central
8th-9th October 2024

Access the latest issue of Health Estate Journal on your mobile device together with an archive of back issues.

Download the FREE Health Estate Journal app from your device's App store

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