COMMENT
Finding solutions through knowledge sharing
Welcome to the November issue of Health Estate Journal. November marks the final issue of HEJ for this year. And what a year it has been. Since I took over editorial duties on HEJ back in April, I have had the pleasure of attending the IHEEM Wales Regional Conference, Exhibition and Awards Dinner at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Newport, South Wales, in May, the IHEEM Authorising Engineers Conference and Exhibition at Epsom Downs Racecourse in July, and, of course, IHEEM’s Healthcare Estates Conference, Exhibition and Awards 2026, which took place in October at Manchester Central. All three events proved incredibly fruitful, giving me the chance to meet past, present, and future HEJ contributors, and to get up to speed with the biggest issues of the day by attending numerous keynotes and discussions. At all these events, it has been a real pleasure to hear how highly Health Estate Journal is regarded by healthcare engineers, estates managers, and many others. For those of you who were not able to attend the gala
awards dinner in Manchester – the highlight of which was a moving address by guest speaker Sir Kevin Sinfield – there are full details of all the winners on p27. A full Editor’s Report on Healthcare Estates 2026 will follow in our January issue – as will coverage of IHEEM’s forthcoming (at the time of writing) Scotland Regional Conference, Exhibition & Gala Awards Dinner 2026, which takes place this very month in Edinburgh.
Much of the discussion at these events has centred
around the need for solutions to the various challenges currently facing the NHS estate. On p31, Steven Heape, chair of IHEEM’s Environmental and Sustainability Advisory Panel, takes a number of hot topics – the growth of, demand for, and heat generated by AI data centres, the NHS’ challenging Net Zero targets, and its growing requirement for resilient on-site IT infrastructure – and folds them into one bold proposal: that Trusts host data centres on NHS land, capture the heat generated by them, and benefit from robust local IT services. Continuing this solutions theme, on p35, Stephen Darren Magee, health innovation project consultant for Surrey & Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, explains why the Volumetric Photonic Emissive Reaction (VPER) reactor represents a new class of environmental air treatment technology, while on p43, Tom Hughes, managing director of Aerocom (UK) Ltd, looks at whether a more sophisticated approach to pneumatic tube systems (PTS) monitoring could profoundly change the way in which such systems are maintained. In addition we have articles from Christine Fears, head of publishing and research communications at the Healthcare Infection Society, on the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance, Varun Sharma, founder and CEO of NEUVIOR, on getting governance right in Hospital 2.0, and much more besides. I hope you enjoy the issue.
Matt Seex, Editor mattseex@
stepcomms.com
It has been a real pleasure to hear how highly Health Estate Journal is regarded by healthcare engineers, estates managers, and many others
Editor Matt Seex
mattseex@stepcomms.com
Business Manager Sheehan Edmonds
sheehanedmonds@stepcomms.com
Sales Executive Peter Moon
petermoon@stepcomms.com
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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.
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www.healthestatejournal.com November 2026 Health Estate Journal 5
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