VENTILATION
n Better management of remedials Seeker Ventilation enables users to track remedials on every verification and this holistic information provides a comprehensive overview of the maintenance history for critical systems, suites and AHUs.
n Planning immediate maintenance and longer- term programmes
Stephen Bartlett
Stephen Bartlett is an experienced information professional with extensive knowledge of resource planning, risk management and healthcare estates. Having qualified as a Chartered accountant, he became Finance director of a leading database publisher before working in central government to establish some of the initial internet infrastructure needed for departments begin their shift away from paper. With a strong focus on
knowledge management, this work included real time services with immediate access to essential information which provided significant operational benefits. Subsequently, he
was Deputy chairman of a leading provider of resource scheduling software and then he joined Invigilatis as CEO, where he has led its evolution into a leading provider of real-time compliance solutions for healthcare and complex Healthcare estates, Using the latest
technologies, Invigilatis’ solutions empower managers while supporting modern collaborative management processes to reduce costs. He has ensured clients gain considerable operational benefits with improved flows of information. As well as achieving savings, risks are reduced (one solution resulted in a 90 per cent reduction in risk) and asset life cycle management is improved.
With the information from quarterly inspections, pre verification checks and verifications, maintenance to be planned and scheduled, so reducing the need for immediate reactive interventions. This smarter approach minimises non-compliance and will optimise theatre availability.
Dashboards provide comprehensive risk-rated information about compliance which enables APs to plan maintenance programmes for the critical ventilation systems to minimise cost of work and to ensure their life cycles can be optimised.
n Trend analysis for longer term planning As yearly data accumulates Seeker’s detailed charts summarise trends and progression towards better levels of compliance. This periodic information can be used to inform maintenance and re-placement planning, again optimising availability and asset life cycles.
n Strategic benefits from digitising verification Digitised verifications enable all ventilation stakeholders to access holistic information and so they can communicate more easily with their peers. This improved access to verification information enables better collaborative strategic decisions to be made: n Patient safety issues are well understood, which ensures maximum number of high tariff operations can be delivered.
n Remedial monitoring is real time, which ensures Life Cycle Management trends can be monitored closely to deliver Continuous improvement goals as per NHS Improvement’s latest guidance.
UK’s evolving legal environment While the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act provides core legislation that applies to the safety of working with ventilation installations, more recent legislation is increasingly placing more emphasis on owners to fulfil their obligations to provide safe environments for staff, occupants, contractors and visitors. For example, ISO 45001 extended duty of are to
contractors and the Fire Safety Act 2021, along with the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, which forms the basis of the current fire safety legislation in the UK, requires a Golden Thread of information so everyone has better access to information. Ensuring the availability and appropriate use of information is essential to avoid serious litigation, as was seen this year when a North East London Trust faced a charge of corporate manslaughter because incidents had neither been properly recorded nor assessed, and there were also concerns about staff members’ communication and the development of their leadership skills. As corporate safety legislation continues to evolve, it will be essential for Trusts and other Healthcare providers to maintain a bank of secure and consistent data to ensure compliance and defend litigious claims. Seeker Ventilation’s unique digital approach to verifications, with easy and immediate access to essential information which can impact on patient safety, will ensure Trusts can demonstrate that their legal obligations have been discharged satisfactorily.
44 Health Estate Journal January 2026
An air handling unit (AHU) is a core component of HVAC systems that conditions and circulates air in hospital buildings.
Conclusion and opportunities Digitising verifications is a key driver of important changes: n Improved processes and reduced costs. n Operational and functional benefits to ensure patient safety.
n Strategic gains which optimise ROI.
Aligned with legislative changes and increasing NHS focus on a culture which fosters improvement, particularly for patient safety, digitised verifications also provide opportunities to: n Satisfy and support many best practices with comprehensive logbooks which are key for ESG reporting.
n Achieve incremental gains in support of continuous improvement.
n Meet the requirements of ISO55000 and improve asset management.
Further reading n Great Britain. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. London: HMSO; 1974.
n Great Britain. Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. London: HMSO; 2005.
n NHS England. HTM 00: Policies and principles of healthcare engineering. London: Department of Health; 2014.
n International Organization for Standardization. ISO 45001: 2018 Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use. Geneva: ISO; 2018.
n Great Britain. Fire Safety Act 2021. London: HMSO; 2021. n NHS England. HTM 03-01: Specialised ventilation for healthcare buildings. London: Department of Health & Social Care; 2022.
n Great Britain. Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022. London: HMSO; 2022.
n Great Britain. Building Safety Act 2022. London: HMSO; 2022. n NHS England. NHS delivery and continuous improvement review. London: NHS England; 2023.
n NHS England. NHS Impact. London: NHS England; 2023. n Deming WE. The new economics for industry, government, education. Cambridge (MA): MIT Press; 1993.
n Senge P. The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday; 1990.
n Moen R. Foundation and history of the PDSA cycle. 2009. n Humphreys H. Infection prevention and control considerations regarding ventilation in acute hospitals. 2021.
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