6


NEWS


ACCESSING THE RIGHT PRESCRIPTION


As the Government’s white paper “Liberating the NHS” sets out a new strategy for the way the NHS will operate, contracts and service direc- tor Paul Ryan looks at how the changes could affect the building and maintenance of hospitals or surgeries and how hospitals like Oxford’s John Radcliffe are already finding sustain- able access solutions. In the age of austerity, even the


Government’s ‘sacred cow’ is under pressure to reform and save costs. The NHS has benefited from a building boost in recent years, and at GEZE UK, we’ve been working with con- tractors and specifiers to install sus- tainable, long-term access solutions that will serve staff, visitors and patients safely and effectively, even during the leaner years. Quality and patient safety are


major themes of the white paper, and the intention to give patients and cli- nicians greater control of services looks set to increase the role of the private sector in public healthcare, which could boost private investment in healthcare construction. While planned spending for the NHS is set to increase in real terms over the next few years, efficiency savings of £20 billion by 2014 must match this. For manufacturers and developers, it’s


essential that durable, high quality, sustainable solutions are specified for new builds and refurbishments to meet this need. Oxford’s flagship John Radcliffe


Hospital is already benefiting from sustainable solutions in its West Wing and Children’s Hospital, with a wide range of high quality automatic and manual door closers throughout the six-storey building. The demand- ing nature of the hospital meant that we had to provide safe, durable products that could stand up to constant use, be energy efficient and have low ongoing costs, but also fit the bright, friendly, comforting aesthetics of the building. At the Hospital’s entrances, the


contractors Parry Bowen chose five bi-parting Slimdrive SL sliding door operators, which met both practical and aesthetic demands. Durable enough to stand up to the heavy foot- fall over many years and small enough, at just 7cm high, to be integrated into the door, the glass entrances complemented the stylish façade. Accessibility is always important


in all public buildings, but in a place where many people will be infirm or unable to pass through normal doors, automatic operators are the ideal


NEW BUSINESS SERVICES DIRECTOR AT BALFOUR BEATTY ENGINEERING SERVICES


Balfour Beatty Engineering Services (BBES), one of the UK’s largest mechanical and electrical building services businesses,


created as part of the executive lead- ership team which has an overarch-


solution. Two sets of doors formed a lobby area, with access to the hospital and covered car parks. This ensured that there was minimal heat loss, saving energy costs. Regular mainte- nance of the automatic operators will also keep ongoing costs low. Automatic operators at the busiest


parts of the hospitals can also reduce the number of infection hotspots, by removing the need for handles, helping prevent the spread of killer bacteria including MRSA or C. difficile. Architectural Ironmongers, Elite


Ironmongery, also chose our products throughout the West Wing and Children’s Hospital of the John Radcliffe Hospital, including more than a thousand TS 4000 overhead door closers for the hospital’s inner doors. At the entrance to wards, the TS 4000 S was used because it has a delayed closing action, allowing extra time for slow or immobile people to pass safely through the door. At the entrance to theatre prepara-


tion rooms, operating theatres, chil- dren’s wards and other areas which needed restricted access, 20 TSA 160/162 automatic swing doors were installed and fitted with an electro magnetic locking system. This locking system keeps children in wards safe from unauthorised visitors and stops members of the public entering highly sterile areas including operating theatres, while allowing quick, easy access to surgical staff. Popular in healthcare environ-


ing responsibility for BBES’ busi- ness processes. Safety, health and environment; quality, the business process manual (BPM) and ICT are all essential elements of the company’s operations and in his new role, John Sharp has taken on the challenge of analysing how these functions work, improving the way they inter-relate and ultimately increasing business performance. John reports to managing


recently


appointed John Sharp as the company’s business services director. This new position has been


director John Moore. John has a background in business systems and change, having worked for many years with NG Bailey where he was business process development director.


ments, the TSA 160 and TSA 162 are used when a door is too heavy to operate manually and an automatic swing door system is the perfect solu- tion. Its double door arrangement means that just one leaf needs to be active, with the slave leaf only coming into operation when needed, for example, to allow hospital beds to pass through. This saves energy and reduces heat loss. Sustainable solutions are not just


about energy efficiency – keeping running costs low and preserving the life expectancy of the product is also essential. This can be achieved with regular maintenance, which also ensures life safety standards are upheld, and is vital to avoid accidents and ensure public safety. All automat- ic doors require regular testing and maintenance to ensure safety at all times and the code of practice for automatic doors, BS 7036:1996, states that automatic doors should be regularly serviced by trained and knowledgeable engineers. By focusing on innovative prod-


ucts and good maintenance schemes, we can all maximise the value of every penny invested in healthcare con- struction over the next few years. But we must also lay the foundations for ongoing cost savings, helping reach Government targets and freeing up cash for vital healthcare. I’m con- vinced that durability, quality and sustainability will be the new watch- words for everyone involved in build- ing the future of healthcare.


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