“If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise”. Those are the often repeated lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy that were added to the tune of The Teddy Bears Picnic in 1932, by the Irish songwriter, to the tune composed by John Walter Bratton, in 1907. While not as old as this

Preventing infections arising from the built environment in a new healthcare facility is a different entity to the traditional understanding of infection prevention and control (an Infection Control team patrolling the wards, and adherence to handwashing protocols etc). Any stakeholder can inadvertently take an action which results in a patient acquiring infection. This could, for

Great office spaces are more than just the bricks and mortar used to build them. They are built with occupants in mind, to create places people want to work in that encourage collaboration and productivity. A laboratory is no different. Our brief as MEP and lab design consultants for the London Institute of Medical Sciences’

HEJ’s readers will be acutely aware of the growing NHS building maintenance backlog, and with an ageing healthcare estate on the one hand, and ever higher expectations for care on the other, many – and especially, older, healthcare buildings – have reached a condition where refurbishment or reconfiguration to bring them up to modern standards

The health of the planet and the health of people are inextricably linked, with the World Health Organization declaring climate change the biggest health threat to humanity. There have been many studies to back this up, particularly around pollution, and how it increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, respiratory problems, and dementia. At Bupa,

In the first half of a two-part article, Consultant Medical Microbiologist, Dr Michael Weinbren, head of Estates Risk and Environment at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, George McCracken, Susanne Lee of independent microbiology consultancy, Leegionella, and Consultant Microbiologist at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Dr Teresa Inkster, argue that ensuring patient safety in new

Stuart Douglas became Director of Specialist Estates Services (SES), part of NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP), just over a year ago, having been Deputy Director since August 2022. HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, recently met up with him by ‘Teams’ to find out more about his career, and discuss some of the most pressing issues

In July 2022, the NHS made a major commitment to decarbonisation, and its landmark pledge to achieve Net Zero by 2040 was a world-first for health services.  Healthcare is one of the nation’s highest energy-consuming industries, with the NHS responsible for 4% of the UK’s total carbon emissions. With the total energy bill for NHS

Healthcare-specific technical engineering guidance is a vital tool in the safe and efficient operation of healthcare facilities, so that if disturbances to mains power do occur, patient or staff safety is not in danger. The key challenges in protecting critical power in healthcare situations include: Compliance with multiple guidelines, regulations, and healthcare-specific standards, including HTM

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust describes the construction of new Centre for Laboratory Medicine at St James’s Hospital – the building was completed by BAM in July 2023, and is expected to be fully operational this summer (2024) – as ‘a significant milestone in regional healthcare’. This is because the 450-500 staff that will move

The Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) scheme collects and analyses anonymised information relating to serious adverse reactions (SAR) and serious adverse events (SAE) of blood transfusion reported in the United Kingdom (UK). From this data, SHOT makes recommendations to improve patient and transfusion safety. A breakdown of the 2022 Annual SHOT Report1 (assessing a total

Carl-Magnus von Behr, Professor Tim Minshall, and Professor John Clarkson report on research, sponsored by the University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, to identify how knowledge priorities vary among NHS EFM staff across organisational levels. The results highlight knowledge gaps in sustainability and digitalisation, varying skill priorities for managers and directors,

Following IHEEM’s work to strengthen and promote the role and importance of professional development and independent AEs across all its specialist engineering platforms, members highlighted the urgent need to actively support the development of AP and CPs. IHEEM’s Decontamination Technical Platform is now piloting a programme in Wales aimed at directly supporting such personnel. John

Valley Children’s Healthcare, a pre-eminent paediatric care provider in Central California, is on a pioneering path to become the first Net Zero paediatric hospital campus in the United States. This ambitious project, a collaboration with Mazzetti, aims to establish the largest paediatric healthcare renewable energy microgrid in the country, marking a significant stride towards sustainable

Les Szabo, NSW (New South Wales) State manager at Australian water treatment specialist, HydroChem, discusses work to implement an effective Legionella risk management and prevention strategy for the hot water system at a Sydney hospital. Among the key steps taken to address the existing protocols’ shortcomings were establishing a proper sampling protocol, implementing a monthly