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CONTENTS


REGULARS


5 COMMENT: An international perspective on healthcare design and safety 6 COVER STORY: High-quality estates: a hybrid MMC approach 9


16 23


INSTITUTE NEWS TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT HEALTH SECTOR NEWS


FEATURES


28 Global insights into electrical safety Timo Ohtonen of Finnish health tech company PPO-Elektroniikka Oy, and Gopa Kumar, National President of the National Federation of Engineers for Electrical Safety, discuss the importance of electrical safety within Group 2 healthcare facilities, with reference to examples in India and Ukraine.


33 A practical approach to fire damper maintenance Andrew Steel, managing director of Airmec Essential Services, outlines the critical importance of fire dampers and in keeping these devices fully maintained and compliant, especially in healthcare facilities, where a worrying number of buildings are still not receiving the required inspections.


38 Interview: designing tomorrow’s estate Sam Vijatov of Innovation Fire Engineering interviewed Paul Mathews, director at Murphy Philipps Architects, winner of the 2025 Healthcare Estates Architectural Practice of the Year Award. They discussed the design of Hellesdon Rivers Centre – a purpose-built facility for individuals requiring specialised mental healthcare.


43 Preparing NHS estates for low-carbon heat Steve Heape, chair of IHEEM’s Environmental and Sustainability Advisory Panel, Andy Yates of the Carbon and Energy Fund, and Rob Hilliard of Vital Energi, draw on their substantial experience of delivering energy, mechanical, and Net Zero infrastructure in operational NHS environments to explore what trusts can – and should – be doing to prepare existing estates for low-carbon heat technologies.


47 Invisible foundations: utility enabling works Leon Stefanski, senior project manager in the New QEH Design and Construction team at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn, explores how early-stage infrastructure, multidisciplinary coordination, and cross-team collaboration shape the success of complex NHS transformation programmes.


53 High PMV projects: quicker, safer, greener With waiting lists remaining at historically high levels, healthcare providers need to urgently build capacity at pace. Simon Squirrell, national sales director at Vanguard Healthcare Solutions, explains how volumetric construction with high pre-manufactured value is transforming healthcare estates.


58 New Danish hospitals: vision and inspiration Bård Rane, a member of the National Association of Norwegian Architects (MNAL) and former head of design and function for the New National University Hospital of Norway and The University Clinic of Akershus, Norway, visits two brand new Danish hospitals, both of which are currently under construction and expected to open in 2027.


65 The changing face of workplace AV Phil Wiltshire, contracts manager at Pensdown Ltd, explains the critical role that modern AV technology systems can play in the overall fabric of healthcare estates, and the positive impact they can have on operational performance.


69 Resilient floor restoration: performance advantages As maintaining safe and efficient environments is absolutely paramount, the obvious solution to tired and expired flooring would seem to be full replacement. However, this can be extremely expensive, and estates managers ought to consider the many advantages of restoration, as Simon Testa, managing director at resilient floor restoration specialist Stainbusters Cleaning and Hygiene, explains.


73 Making NHS and private FM partnerships work If a Trust decides to outsource, the biggest predictors of success are how the partnership is set up and how the people involved choose to make it work. Here, NHS & FM commercial advisor James Saunders examines common pitfalls in NHS outsourcing relationships and offers practical recommendations to avoid them.


76 Infrared: a heat pump alternative? While heat pumps are widely promoted as the primary low-carbon solution, their application across a diverse and ageing healthcare estate presents both financial and practical constraints. Mohamed Hanslod, managing director of Bri-Tek Technologies and Infrared Heating Supplies, explains how far infrared (FIR) heating represents a credible, lower-cost, and operationally flexible alternative.


May 2026 Health Estate Journal 3


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