IHEEM’S NEW PRESIDENT


Alison Ryan, pictured in 2001, with some of her fellow BSc Honours Physics degree students at the University of Leeds.


Master’s degree Having completed her HNC in 2004, Alison Ryan went on to study for a Master’s degree in Building Services Engineering and Management via distance learning from Brunel University. She said: “I enjoyed and benefited considerably professionally from the Master’s degree, but, timing- wise, it was also key to me achieving Chartered status (through CIBSE) by the time I was 30, which had always been a goal. The Master’s course included both management of systems, and people, as well as financial reporting. It was an extremely busy time – I was working on engineering projects during the day, renovating my house in the evening, and had another part-time job at weekends, while also studying. However, I was determined to succeed, and completed my MSc with distinction in 2009. The Master’s degree really takes your learning to another dimension, while to gain Chartered Engineer status you must not only have the appropriate technical qualifications, but also the hands-on experience. I was very proud to achieve this particular goal by the time I was 30. I think being a Chartered Engineer opens up all sorts of doors, both here and internationally. For instance in Germany, I don’t think you can call yourself an ‘engineer’ unless you are Chartered.”


Involvement in NHS schemes During the first five years of her career at DSSR, Alison Ryan had gained considerable knowledge of the complex NHS healthcare sector environment, working on various schemes for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Harrogate District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals. She explained: “I also spent a year – from 2006-2007 – with Hoare Lea, before returning to DSSR in 2008. At that point, all I had done was healthcare, and I was keen to diversify a little. At Hoare Lea one of the projects I remember working on – in conjunction with the famous architects, Fosters – was a 36-storey Dublin residential block, the top floor of


36 Health Estate Journal November 2022


Alison Ryan was diagnosed with Mediastinal Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2010. She is pictured during her radiotherapy treatment at St. James’s University Hospital in Leeds.


which the rock band, U2, was going to use as a studio. There were some high-profile schemes, but I rapidly realised healthcare was what I loved doing, and was soon back at DSSR in Harrogate.


Promotion opportunity “In fact,” she added, “I was offered a promotion opportunity as an Executive Mechanical Engineer back at DSSR, and, in 2008, the chance to work on the Southmead Hospital PFI project in Bristol – then one of the biggest healthcare PFI projects. Not only was there my family connection at DSSR, but while not a very large firm headcount-wise, the company had excellent healthcare connections. All the healthcare projects I worked on were fascinating – in different ways. For instance, monetary value-wise the Southmead Hospital project alone was worth £430 m. I was involved with the bid stage activities, with sustainability a key aspect. I remember we were looking at installing biomass boilers. “I also worked a lot with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and with Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – my mum was a nurse at Bradford Royal Infirmary. It was fantastic establishing and building the strong relationships we did with these Trusts, and with the NHS Trust in Hull. These solid, long-lasting connections saw us win a lot of repeat work. For me, life and work are all about working with people you respect. I was with DSSR for almost 20 years, before joining Mott MacDonald in March 2021.” I asked what made her move? She said: “It was principally all the work that the multidisciplinary business was doing as technical advisor on the New Hospital Programme and authoring of new guidance.


Technical advisors “We have been appointed as technical advisors on various schemes, and have been looking at healthcare planning, digital, Net Zero carbon, social outcomes, shell and core aspects, infrastructure requirements, and MEP services, typically from Strategic Outline Case onwards,


whereas previously I would have worked on schemes from RIBA Stage 2 onwards”.


Another key career change “I was aware of Mott MacDonald’s growing healthcare sector involvement before joining the company, and this was one of the key attractions of the job,” she explained. “I also felt it was time for a change and another key career move. In this role I am home-based, but it is a national role.” Returning to her work on new hospital proposals she said: “We are reviewing aspects such as primary energy sources – with many hospitals going all electric – using air source heat pumps, and solar PV, and the building fabric, using a ‘fabric first’ approach. This is seeing everything following an energy hierarchy. Similarly,” she explained, “with refurbishment schemes, we are looking to see whether Trusts are seeking to decarbonise, and at what they are doing to improve their existing estate. We are also considering whether buildings are fit for purpose from a modern-day clinical standpoint. If not – for example if the adjacencies are all wrong – then the project really is a non-starter.”


Technical knowledge and expertise I asked what the most interesting aspect of the work had been. Alison Ryan said: “I think realising just how much technical knowledge and expertise I have gained over the last 20 years from doing the detailed design work.” When not working specifically on healthcare reviews, a typical day may involve meetings with clients and Trusts, Estates managers or Project teams, undertaking surveys, visiting sites, putting together fee proposals and bids, reports, specifications, and drawings, and responding to queries and problems. It is a really interesting role,” she explained, “made even more so by Mott MacDonald’s multidisciplinary expertise, and the breadth of services we offer.” Next, we moved on to discuss her


role and aims as IHEEM’s new President, beginning with how she was selected. She said: “Once I became aware I was


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