Earthquakes are natural hazards that are defined as a ‘disaster’ when the built environment fails. The Australian and New Zealand building codes have resilience measures (standards) for these events, although they are often misunderstood, overlooked, or discounted through inaction or avoidance. In new construction and upgrade of facilities, there is strong reliance upon the construction

Standards Australia is in the process of replacing the AS1324 filter series, with the replacement of the existing G1-G4 and F5-F9 filter classifications with the ISO 16890 series (Figure 1). While at first glance, the new filter classification method appears far more complicated to apply, the new rating system is an improvement, as it better

Following welcome drinks in the Caernarfon Suite at the Celtic Manor Resort Hotel, a stone’s throw from the ICC Wales conference and exhibition venue, IHEEM Wales Branch Chair, John Prendergast, who is Senior Decontamination Engineer at NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership — Specialist Estate Services, welcomed guests, and said he hoped all had enjoyed a

The world is for ever moving away from fixed infrastructures to wire-free solutions for passing data, and the more reliable these wire-free networks become, the more suitable they are for critical data communications. Take any typical working day, and — for most of us — crucial aspects of our daily lives are reliant on the

Advances in bedpan washer-disinfector technology are helping hospitals to improve infection prevention procedures and make sluice rooms more sustainable. Trusts can cut costs, reduce carbon emissions, and help clinicians to save time — enabling them to dedicate more time to delivering hands-on care. Traditionally, hospitals have tended to favour medical pulp macerators over bedpan washer-disinfectors.

Water compliance is especially important in a healthcare, hospital, or care home setting, but through our discussions with the sector it’s become clear that not many understand what is required. Bringing clarity and understanding to the requirements that must be upheld can be described in a nutshell: ‘Any water fitting, which when installed, will carry

Maintaining consistently clean water supplies is of importance in many industries, but is especially crucial within medical settings, where already vulnerable patients are at risk of contracting Legionnaire’s Disease — if Legionella bacteria levels are not tightly controlled — among other waterborne diseases. Bacteria grow in adherent biofilm colonies, making removal even more difficult. Chlorine

The Designing for Everyone toolkit has been developed to help GP practices and health centres improve their buildings and the physical environment of care for all patients, and particularly those who are living with dementia, learning disabilities, autism, or cognitive impairment. It is believed to be the first integrated resource of its kind to focus

The on-premises laundry truly is at the heart of any healthcare site’s facilities management strategy, with both patients and staff requiring a steady stream of clean linen every day. It is important to recognise that the range of items here is enormous, and includes bedclothes, gowns, and personal clothing for patients, alongside uniforms, surgical dresses,

Jonathan Baillie, discovered from two of those involved in the project during a visit to Derriford, its rapid provision was made possible only through the innovative FLEX managed services project package developed by MTX, and ‘extraordinary collaboration’ between the contractor and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust. The new offsite-manufactured three-storey REI building brings together outpatient

Opinions on the degree of success of the PFI funding model for hospitals and other healthcare facilities have always tended to be pretty polarised — with critics citing increasingly fractious relationships between PFI consortia / projectcos and their NHS counterparts, and difficulties in getting even basic maintenance or repairs undertaken without time-consuming and laborious contract

Ensuring fire safety in all healthcare premises is of the utmost importance. The amount of medical equipment and gases, the size and complexity of the buildings, and the vulnerability of our patients, means that it is a complex task. Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in London in 2017, the Government initiated the Independent

In May last year the Government announced that five more hospitals would be built in England, in addition to the 40 new projects announced in 2019 as part of its New Hospital Programme (NHP), making it the largest hospital building programme in a generation. This ambitious proposal requires innovative thinking and a strategic approach when

Within the UK lift industry, there has been a regulatory requirement to fit communication devices to new passenger lifts since the introduction of EN 81-1 and EN 81-2 in 1998. However, most lifts in a hospital environment had telephones within them long before this. While the majority of lifts installed in the UK have communication

The hospital environment is not often considered in terms of its impact on staff wellbeing. Most staff support policies are associated with mental health, flexible work, food provision, and protected breaks, rather than the work environment itself. However, there is a correlation between staff stress and satisfaction and patient satisfaction — if staff satisfaction is