COMMENT COVER STORY Advertising feature
System identifies and measures medical gas system leaks
MedGasScan is a new on-site inspection service offered by BeaconMedaes, the medical gas pipeline specialist. Its qualified team can undertake a full inspection of a medical gas pipeline system, to identify and measure gas leaks on the pipeline itself or the associated equipment. The company said: “To identify gas, it’s necessary to use specific tools. Our camera is designed to detect ultrasonic signals produced by the loss of gases such as oxygen, nitrous oxide, Entonox, or medical air, which are typically not audible to the human ear. Leakages can be often be found on component joints within source equipment such as manifold control systems and air plant or control valves, which can be “blanked off” and hidden in ceiling voids, as well as worn-out terminal units, hoses, and flowmeters connected to the patient equipment. The camera works at distance or through protective windows on products such as area valve service units (AVSUs).
“Our camera forms a very accurate acoustic image in the desired direction. This acoustic image is transposed in real time on top of a digital camera picture, which allows the user to accurately see from which directions sound is arriving to the camera. Interesting sound sources can then be separated from background noise and saved.” Once the gas system has been tested and tagged, a comprehensive report is produced highlighting the leaks on the distribution system. The flow of each leak is determined in litres per minute, as well as the accumulated losses. A visual record of the leak is produced in the report – the louder the leak, the
Do we know which hospital to build?
One of the most thought-provoking presentations at last October’s ‘hybrid’ Healthcare Estates conference saw Stephen Wright, an independent consultant and Honorary Professor at London’s Bartlett School of Architecture, address the question, ‘Do we know which hospital to build and why we’re doing it?’ (see pages 18-22). In seeking to answer this, he drew on his and a group of colleagues’ submission for the Wolfson Economics Prize 2021. Entrants for the £250,000 prize had been asked: ‘How would you design and plan new hospitals to improve patient experience, clinical outcomes, staff wellbeing, and integration?’. Te winner, Ab Rogers Design (page 13), set out a vision for smaller hospitals which could be built across England and ‘sit within the community as centres of wellness, as well as cure’. In formulating their prize submission, and
darker the image is. This ranges from green (good), to yellow, orange, and through to red. The total losses on each gas pipeline can be calculated and will determine the amount of gas lost per annum. This can be converted back to a cost saving for the facility, as well as highlighting any potential fire risks associated with oxygen leaks, or large negative carbon impact of gases such as Entonox or nitrous oxide. For any further information on this service or to arrange an on-site audit, please contact
gbn.service@
beaconmedaes.com
BeaconMedaes Ltd Greaves Close Markham Vale
Chesterfield S44 5FB T: +44 (0)1246 474 242
undertaking the associated research, Stephen Wright’s team had concluded that when building a new hospital, what mattered most was not designing it ‘with minimum first cost’, but rather ‘looking to arrange it so that the operating costs of medicine over time are low’, and ‘at whether, preferably, they get lower’. He added: “Te amount of money you spend on building the facilities and putting in the equipment upfront, plus the operating costs – i.e. the facilities management – make absolutely no difference to the long-term cost. What matters is the medical and clinical expenditures.” Some interesting conclusions. What do readers think? Te future UK healthcare estate was also
discussed by the recently re-constituted All- Party Parliamentary Group on Healthcare Infrastructure at its inaugural online meeting on 23 November (pages 31-36). Cross-party members agreed that among the biggest potential challenges to creating a ‘balanced’ and fit-for- purpose future estate were ‘gaps’ in UK hospital design expertise, over-focusing on new acute healthcare facilities at the expense of primary care, and a current lack of forward-thinking workforce planning. Given considerable uncertainty about how healthcare might look in, say, 20 years’ time – it was also critical, the Group agreed, to embed sufficient adaptability into new healthcare buildings – an unsurprising, but certainly highly pertinent, conclusion. Enjoy this issue, and I wish all
readers a Happy and Prosperous 2022.
Jonathan Baillie,
Editor jonathanbaillie@
stepcomms.com
January 2022 Health Estate Journal 5
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