What is a digital or ‘smart’ hospital? There is no universally agreed definition, but one thing that is clear is that the healthcare sector stands on the cusp of extraordinary change, with digital technology offering real solutions to tackling the healthcare challenges of today and tomorrow. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital adoption, as it was

Kevin O’Neill, Architect at HLM Architects, explains how the practice developed what it believes is a ‘unique’ eight-bedded cluster layout for the 144 single bedrooms within the new North Wing at Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry in Northern Ireland. He describes this as ‘a unique concept within healthcare design’, with ‘the potential to drive substantial efficiencies’,

Carbon emissions play a key role in contributing to global warming and climate change. Climate change, of course, not only affects the environment, but also our health, contributing to, and indeed worsening, conditions like cardiovascular disease, cancer, and respiratory diseases such as asthma. By working towards a smaller carbon footprint, we can simultaneously reduce the

In the first in a series of three articles planned to run in HEJ in coming months, Dr Mike Weinbren, a consultant medical microbiologist at King’s Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire, and a Specialist Advisor, Microbiology, on England’s national New Hospital Programme, examines some of the major health risks to patients and staff from

Our multi-billion-pound portfolio of investments will not only transform healthcare infrastructure, but also how that infrastructure is delivered. We intend to create an enduring legacy of skills, relationships, and productivity, in the industry, while maximising the socioeconomic benefits for the communities our hospitals serve. The facilities being created (40 schemes by 2030, with further schemes

When planning new healthcare infrastructure there is a tension between those providing services and those needing to use them. Healthcare providers and their workforce are typically drawn to co-locate services close to a secondary acute site with generally bigger facilities. This makes sense with nearby support for emergencies, colleagues from different specialties available for opinion,

An isolated power supply (IPS) and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) are both important components of a hospital’s electrical infrastructure, and although they serve different purposes, together they ensure patient safety and continuity of care, protect expensive and sensitive medical equipment, maintain the IT infrastructure, and comply with regulations and standards.  An isolated power supply

Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 02-01 provides pivotal guidance to healthcare estate management and healthcare engineering personnel working in this specialist field, but understanding such guidance, and actually delivering what is set out in it, are two different things. Providing practical learning that follows the guidance in the HTM, allowing learners to take away real-life knowledge

‘Building information modelling’ – or BIM – the construction approach comprising best practice processes to manage detailed information around the design and delivery of new developments, has been mandated by the Government since 2016 for all publicly-funded projects, including healthcare facilities. Widely deployed in healthcare beyond the NHS, BIM is not just about delivering a

As the impact of climate change continues to unfold globally, extreme weather is here to stay – whether in the form of new temperature highs and lows, precipitation patterns, flooding, storms, or wind. The UK experienced its warmest year ever in 2022, highlighted by the red weather warning issued in the summer as a result

Healthcare environments are inevitably exposed to many different microorganisms, which can have negative repercussions for vulnerable patients, as well as causing premature deterioration and odours in frequently touched equipment. Regular cleaning and decontamination are essential to help reduce the bioburden of these microbes, but traditional disinfectants only offer limited residual activity once the surface dries,

Three senior personnel at London-headquartered public service consultants, The PSC, Smriti Singh, David Chappell, and Sesha Nicholson-Lailey, discuss the implications of the New Hospital Programme (NHP)’s announcement that all new hospitals in England must include 100% single patient rooms. They explore such rooms’ history, their potential benefits and challenges, and the importance of involving clinicians

The New Hospital Programme has been tasked with transforming and modernising NHS healthcare facilities in England. It is, the team behind it says, ‘a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink our approach to the NHS – much more than a set of new buildings, it’s a whole new way of working’. Transformation director and Chief Nurse, Josie

The challenges in our changing climate, and rising energy costs, have seen people thinking much more about how to reduce their costs and water consumption. Many consumers underestimate their water use, and don’t understand how much water each appliance or various water fittings use. Saving water, of course, also saves money, as all non-households are

Speaking at the Central Sterilising Club’s Annual Study Day last October, Paul Chivers, who heads up the PPE Innovation and Sustainability Team for NHS Supply Chain, explained some of the key initiatives his team has taken since its establishment in the pandemic’s early days to encourage development of more reusable PPE, and improve the sustainability