sponsored by HEALTH SECTOR NEWS
‘NHS waiting lists won’t fall unless we fix ventilation’
The first ever World Ventilation Day on 8 November highlighted what the proponents say is ‘the growing public health crisis linked to poorly ventilated buildings’.
Campaigners, scientists,
academics, and engineers, led a global social media campaign and ran international events demonstrating how good ventilation reduces exposure to deadly viruses and pollutants. World Health Organization (WHO) child health advocate, Rosamund Adoo Kissi-Debrah – who has campaigned for cleaner air since her daughter, Ella’s death from a severe asthma attack linked to air pollution in 2013 – told an event organised by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) children will continue to die unless governments and the ventilation industry work together to address poor indoor air quality. “The NHS will not be able to reduce its waiting lists until we clean up our air,” she said. “It is also much easier to control the indoor than the
outdoor air – so tackling IAQ is a great way to give people back power over their own environment and save lives.” The WHO has established that 3.8 million premature deaths worldwide are linked to poor indoor air. World
Ventilation Day (#WorldVentil8Day) also took place the
day after Rochdale Coroner’s Court ruled that the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak was directly linked to his exposure to damp and mould in a poorly ventilated flat. Several speakers at the BESA event, hosted by Airflow Developments in High Wycombe, said the issue’s importance should also inspire more people to take up careers in ventilation and IAQ. Pictured is the latest edition of
BESA’s Guide to Good Practice for: Indoor Air Quality for Health and Well-being, revised to take account of the major update to the World Health Organization’s WHO global air quality guidelines (2021).
Visit Cape Town for the IFHE’s 28th Congress in October 2024
The 28th Congress of the International Federation of Healthcare Engineering (IFHE) will be hosted by the South African Federation of Healthcare Engineering (SAFHE) in Cape Town, South Africa, in October 2024.
SAFHE points out that it is 18 years since an IFHE global Congress was last hosted in Africa, where the key ‘macro’ issues impacting on healthcare include a high disease burden, and a high mortality rate due to unsafe water. SAFHE said: “Delegates at the Cape Town event will be able to hear an African perspective on our African challenges. Alongside the conference, there will also be the opportunity to visit a number of both government and privately-operated world-class healthcare facilities – such as the Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital,
18 Health Estate Journal January 2023
and Groote Schuur Hospital, both in Cape Town itself.
“The city not only boasts great infrastructure, but also a world-class conference venue – the Cape Town International Convention Centre – where the Congress will take place, and which is within easy walking distance of a myriad hotels and the beautiful city centre. Keep an eye out on our website (
http://www.safhe.co.za/) for updates, travel packages, accommodation specials, and exhibitor information. Please join us in our beautiful country from 15-17 October 2024.”
MMC techniques speed theatre’s completion at Yeovil hospital
Modern Methods of Construction are being employed by MTX to achieve faster, more efficient completion of a new general surgery operating theatre at Yeovil District Hospital. The external shell was installed in late September on a prepared site on a car park, with fitting out of the FFE and MEP elements of the operating theatre project now under way.
The single-storey unit includes a theatre suite with recovery rooms, reception and waiting areas, office space, and a dedicated staff facility. A plant equipment enclosure located on top will contain air-handling units and electrical supply panels to serve the self-contained 420 m2
building.
MTX is working on the project with Simply Serve, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Yeovil Hospital which provides a broad range of services to the hospital and other organisations, including management of capital projects.
Yeovil Hospital and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust CEO, Matthew Bryant said: “The theatre currently being built at Yeovil Hospital will be fundamental in reducing the wait time for patients needing procedures in five specialties – breast, general surgery, dermatology, ENT & trauma, and orthopaedics – and who can go home the same day. The pace at which MMC builds go up enables us to make significant strides in increasing the hospital’s footprint.”
The hospital’s car park includes an access route used by ambulances, so specific measures have had to be put in place to manage site movements. The delivery of the external building shell, and the crane lift onto the foundations previously prepared by MTX, were timed to minimise impacting other vehicle movements, including by ambulances. Pictured is an architect’s visualisation of the new general operating theatre.
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