IHEEM’S NEW PRESIDENT
sector’s future prosperity that that we are as inclusive as possible in welcoming in people from diverse backgrounds.”
At IHEEM’s 2022 Annual General Meeting, on 4 October during Healthcare Estates 2022, Paul Fenton handed over the chain of office to Alison Ryan. She in turn presented him with a Montblanc pen and silver engraved Past-President’s medal.
sizing of existing pipework. If you look at hydrogen, meanwhile, I think the north of the country is perhaps leading the way, although I don’t believe the technology is yet ready to deploy at scale.” Alison Ryan continued: “Professional
development will be a really key focus for me. I would particularly like to get around the country as President – both to IHEEM branches and NHS Estates & Facilities Departments, to promote membership and the benefits of professional registration – at EngTech, IEng, and CEng levels. What I would be saying to, say, an Estates Director or Manager about professional registration is that it not only gives an assurance of an individual’s capabilities, competence, experience, qualifications, and expertise, but also greatly enhances staff’s professional development. I will obviously be promoting professional registration through IHEEM.”
Greater engagement with healthcare in the community One of the areas where the new President believes the scope exists for the Institute to engage more is in community healthcare. She explained: “From where I sit, IHEEM does a lot of engagement with the acute
sector, but doesn’t seem to engage so much with care in the community. This ties in with modernising and digitalising healthcare and care delivery. With the new Integrated Care Systems now up and running, there must be scope for us to offer them advice on the official guidance and regulations surrounding healthcare EFM activity, and on best practice. We might also be able to help GPs’ surgeries looking at refurbishing their premises by offering technical guidance and practical help. I think that if we are trying to modernise and digitalise healthcare, linking the patient with the primary and secondary world is key. “I’ve already mentioned my focus on
the STEM agenda, and inspiring young engineers to join the healthcare EFM and engineering profession, but with all the healthcare planning aspects we now see, there are even more opportunities. I’m not aware of many Trusts running healthcare engineering or EFM apprenticeships, but I think they are needed, because that kind of ‘learning on the job’ experience is pivotal. Indeed it took me the best part of 10 years post-degree to get fully up to speed with my work. We also need to continue with IHEEM’s work on equality and diversity in the workplace, since it is key to the
Project-related career highlights
Alison Ryan’s career to date has seen her work on some complex and high-profile schemes from an MEP and NZC standpoint. Among these have been:
n The New Hospitals Programme, NHS England: Lead technical advisory role (MEP & NZC) to DHSC on the New Hospitals Programme.
n Jersey Hospital – Lead technical advisory role (MEP) on the Jersey ‘Our Hospital Project’, which will comprise five buildings – including the main hospital building, a dedicated mental health facility, a knowledge centre, an energy building, and a multi-storey car park. The project value is circa £550 m,
38 Health Estate Journal November 2022
and the new hospital is due to be built by 2026. ‘The scheme has a strong focus in terms of embedding social outcome considerations into everything, from the outset’.
n DSSR Consulting Engineers Regional Director Role – Managing a team of MEP engineers in the delivery of successful healthcare projects; project delivery, project management, financial forecasting and reporting, and business development.
A balancing act? I next asked Alison Ryan how much of a balancing act she envisaged it would be to serve as an effective IHEEM President while simultaneously giving her all to her ‘day job’ She said: “I am lucky that Mott MacDonald has really supported me here. In fact we have done an assessment of time and budget, and the business is really backing me as IHEEM’s new President. There are already a few IHEEM members and Fellows in my team, and I’m encouraging others to join. One of our staff, Kevin Mitchell, is the current CIBSE President, and I think that although IHEEM has worked hard to foster relationships with other professional bodies, there is still more we can do. The sharing of knowledge that went on during COVID exemplified the benefits. Sharing of international experience can also be invaluable, and I am keen to travel as IHEEM’s President in pursuing this goal.” On a personal level, Alison Ryan told me
that her proudest achievements included: n Obtaining her Physics degree. n Running the New York Marathon in 2006. n Achieving CEng Status in 2010 while undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
n Doing a parachute jump. She added: “I’ve also just started having
private flying lessons, which I’m really enjoying. I’m not sure where the urge to learn to fly originated, although I did work experience at Breighton Aerodrome when I was younger”.
Forerunner’s contribution I closed by asking her about immediate IHEEM Past-President, Paul Fenton’s contribution. She said: “I’d particularly like to mention all Paul’s work around STEM and the Faraday Challenge partnership with the IET, which has been fantastic, while Ian Hinitt – no doubt driven by his own early career in the EFM profession – he worked his way right up – has done some great work on apprenticeships. Paul, meanwhile, became President not long before the COVID pandemic hit, at the most difficult possible time. “Looking back on own my career, I owe
a great deal to DSSR, and my time there,” Alison Ryan acknowledged. “I’m a firm believer that while good qualifications and professional registration are key attributes for a successful healthcare engineer or healthcare estates professional, there really is no substitute for hands-on experience, and particularly learning from, and being guided by, experienced colleagues. That’s a message I would give loud and clear to anyone entering this profession.” With this an interesting discussion closed, and I wished her luck in her new role.
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