Training essential for compliance and safety

Richard Harris, an independent consultant, Authorising Engineer in ventilation/water and pressure systems, and an Eastwood Park HVAC trainer, discusses the importance of HVAC systems in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and equally, the need for good training on such plant and equipment for healthcare engineering and healthcare estates management personnel.

Training is a necessary element for the development of an effective workforce, be it for an industrial, commercial, healthcare, or any other workplace sector. In healthcare the use of ongoing training is essential to ensure that staff are kept informed and up to date with technologies, methodologies, techniques, standards, and best practices. This applies to the estates functions as much as to the medical and clinical functions.

In particular, the healthcare-specific estates functions such as decontamination and medical gas are acknowledged and accepted as having a recognised training need. Healthcare organisations also recognise the requirement to comply with the statutory requirements for training on electrical and some water systems. Unfortunately there appears to be a gap in the recognition of the requirements of HVAC training and its associated activities. These training requirements apply throughout the estates functions; including operation and maintenance, capital projects, planning and development, and should encompass not just HVAC, but also energy, sustainability, and safety, within the remit.