COMMENT IHEEM


First ever ‘online only’ issue reflects a busy few months


JOURNAL OF THE INSTITUTE OF HEALTHCARE ENGINEERING AND ESTATE MANAGEMENT


Editor: Jonathan Baillie jonathanbaillie@stepcomms.com


Technical Editor: Mike Arrowsmith


BSc(Hons), CEng, FIMechE, FIHEEM


Sales Executive: Peter Moon


petermoon@stepcomms.com


Business Manager: Nick Carpenter


nickcarpenter@stepcomms.com


Publisher: Geoff King


geoffking@stepcomms.com


Publishing Director: Trevor Moon


trevormoon@stepcomms.com


Journal Administration: Katy Cockle


katycockle@stepcomms.com


Journal Design: Dave Woodall


Published ten times a year by: Step Communications Ltd, Step House,


North Farm Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3DR Email: info@healthestatejournal.com Web: www.healthestatejournal.com Tel: 01892 779999 Fax: 01892 616177


Welcome to this first ever ‘online only’ issue of HEJ. Readers will know that we do not usually publish an edition in July. However, the past few months have seen the healthcare sector as a whole – including healthcare estates and healthcare engineering teams, as well as architects, construction companies, and suppliers – pull together in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, with some extraordinary achievements resulting. This work – readers will, for instance, have seen the coverage in our April and May issues of the creation of the various 'Nightingale' hospitals – has shown what can be achieved in extremely rapid timescales given the collective will to pool resources and expertise. A number of manufacturers have also modified their lines to turn their hand to producing components or equipment well outside their normal sphere to meet national needs – ventilators being the most obvious and high-profile example. All of this activity has generated a significant volume of editorial sent to me as the editor of HEJ – on topics ranging from the need to ensure that water supplies to emergency hospitals are safe and compliant, to the challenges of designing and installing complex medical gas systems to meet extra demand for oxygen for treating COVID-19 patients, and the requirement for effective training of on-site staff at the various 'emergency hospitals' on equipment with which some may not be that familiar.


Overcoming challenges


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©2020: The Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management UK ISSN 0957-7742


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Neither the Institute nor the Publisher is able to take any responsibility for views expressed by contributors. Editorial views are not necessarily shared by the Institute. Readers are expressly advised that while the contents of this publication are believed to be accurate, correct and complete, no reliance should be placed upon its contents as being applicable to any particular circumstances. Any advice, opinion or information contained is published only on the footing that The Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management, its servants or agents and all contributors to this publication shall be under no liability whatsoever in respect of its contents.


The content in this digital issue thus reflects both some of the challenges that the pandemic has presented for clinical staff, and the innovative ways that these have been addressed by both healthcare estates professionals and suppliers. Ascom, for instance (pages 42-43), explains how, working in with an NHS Trust in south-east England, it developed a bespoke patient/carer communication solution currently being used in the Trust’s ICU, where staff are caring for COVID-19 patients. The system’s hand-held units not only enable clinicians to run ‘virtual’ ward rounds, but also give relatives the opportunity to see and speak to their loved ones in Intensive Care. The system had to be built and programmed entirely offsite to comply with the current UK safety regulations. Meanwhile, as the Royal Academy of Engineering reports on pages 24-26, it has drawn on the expertise of IHEEM, its Fellows, and other professional engineering institutions, in a Rapid Review focusing on engineering and technology design’s impact on controlling the spread of infection in healthcare settings, one of the aims being to further build resilience should the UK be hit by a similar pandemic in the future.


In an article on pages 37-41, meanwhile, two real estate specialists consider ‘how the


physical healthcare environment can continue to provide a safe, fit-for-purpose setting for high quality care as services start to be recommissioned, and planned care recommences, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak’. They also consider whether the pandemic might permanently change how existing healthcare estates are utilised, and additional measures that may need to be implemented, and the potential impact on future health estate strategies and developments. In the short to medium term, those running and operating healthcare buildings are likely to have to continue focusing on physical distancing, and minimising overcrowding throughout buildings, which could be a significant challenge in some busier acute settings particularly.


Future planning


In a separate feature (pages 19-22), the Director for the MSc Healthcare Management programme at Anglia Ruskin University argues that it may be time for a re-think on making hospitals and other healthcare facilities more resilient in the face of events such as pandemics in the future. Nebil Achour also points out that many existing business plans were developed from a risk management standpoint, and often ‘only consider relatively small and localised risks, events, and incidents’. He adds: ‘Such small, localised scenarios often involve planning for anything from a few dozen, to a few hundred, patients requiring immediate medical attention, and can thus often be addressed using resources pulled from different areas and regions, and perhaps by cancelling or transferring some clinical activity to neighbouring areas.’ He continues: ‘Such an approach is viable for situations involving explosions or major accidents, but not so for major disasters such as pandemics or earthquakes, which tend both to cause mass casualties, and significantly reduce resources. In addition, hospital activities were clearly not well defined or reflected in these documents, as there is either very generic information for guiding management and coordination at senior level, or excess detail only readily understandable to particular individuals with specialised and specific skills.’ Some thought- provoking views. We hope readers will find this ‘extra’ online issue of HEJ an informative read.


Jonathan Baillie I Editor jonathanbaillie@stepcomms.com


July 2020 Health Estate Journal 5


health estate journal


©Dilok/stock.adobe.com


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