COMMENT
Meeting modern pressures in healthcare estates
Hello and welcome to the February issue of Health Estate Journal, the first special IFHE issue of the year. This edition brings an international perspective to the shared challenges and opportunities shaping our industry, highlighting how both collaboration and design are improving health environments in the UK and beyond. Recent national coverage suggesting that corridor care is
increasingly becoming the norm across parts of the NHS is a stark reminder of the pressures facing healthcare estates, and the implications this has for facilities management, patient safety, infection control, and the long-term resilience of Trust buildings that were never designed to operate in this way. The familiar pressures facing our industry remain. The budgets are constrained, ageing estates desperately need updating, and there is an urgent requirement to deliver safer and more sustainable services. Yet, as this issue demonstrates, these challenges are also driving creativity and progress. From digital tools that unlock better use of space, to modular construction approaches accelerating the delivery of care closer to communities, our sector continues to respond with incredible resilience. Design plays a central role in this month’s features. Healing through design is explored through the lens of flooring, reminding us that materials and finishes are not merely functional choices, but contributors to wellbeing and safety (p29).
Cover Story
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February 2026 | Volume 80 | Issue 02
offer multiple advantages, including: n Emergency power: Deployment can
be arranged to position our temporary UPS container on your site, complete with cabling. Installation by our own team of engineers.
Healing through
design see page 29
Understanding medical wiring
changes see page 39
NHSPS Interview:
Space to care see page 47
n Your own bespoke design UPS container: Power Continuity build all our own containers and our design team can provide a bespoke level of resilient UPS power for your site.
n Temporary or long-term rental: Power Continuity offer flexible rental plans for short-term and long-term rental.
n Remote monitoring: UPS containers are remotely monitored 24-7 with ‘on call’ tech support and 24-7 engineer response as part of our service.
n Life safety UPS containers: Temporary UPS hire containers will also protect all your life safety areas including emergency fire man lifts/ lighting/ excavation routes. n Emergency back up generators: Power Continuity also design, build and install diesel generators for installation inside a building or externally containerised.
Not happy with your present service provider? We’re here to help 24-7. Let’s talk – speak with one of our engineers.
Power Continuity T: 0845 055 8455 W:
www.powercontinuity.co.uk
HEJ cover
Feb26.indd 1 21/01/2026 14:45 February 2026 Health Estate Journal 5
People and partnerships also take centre stage. Our exclusive interview with the RFL Property Services team, highly commended at the 2025 IHEEM Healthcare Estates awards, offers valuable insight into collaboration, leadership, and the evolving skills required to deliver complex healthcare programmes (p25). Meanwhile, NHS Property Services’ Chris King talks about Open Space, a digital platform that is enabling more efficient management of estates, all whilst aligning with the government’s long- term health plans (p47). Technical excellence remains critical. We have an article examining the forthcoming changes to BS7671 Section 710 for medical locations (p39), the growing pressures facing OEM design teams and the role of cooling systems in maintaining reliability (p44), and the vital contribution of NHS portering services to patient flow and operational performance (p52). The message is clear: effective
healthcare estates are built on strong foundations of design, technology, regulation, and people working in partnership.
Niamh Marriott, Editor
niamhmarriott@
stepcomms.com
Budgets are constrained, ageing estates desperately need updating, and there is an urgent requirement for safer and more sustainable services.
Advertising feature
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