JOINT IHEEM NI AND ROI 2022 CONFERENCE
the best metrics for measuring these. He said: “One of the benefits of the pandemic was that people didn’t come in their thousands to Outpatient appointments. Consultants could go out locally, and have telecommunications and telemedicine; not necessarily the complete answer, but it does show that you don’t need to bring every single person into an acute hospital site for fairly routine outpatient appointments.” The yellow zone on the slide related mainly to travel improvements for healthcare and business, and air quality around transportation, with the transition to zero emissions vehicles, while the light and dark lilac zone related to Estates activities. Brendan Smyth said: “I thought this was interesting. ‘Estates’ plays a key role, but we can’t do it without collaboration from all those other areas. Sometimes I think there’s a perception that it’s an Estates issue, but in truth the drive towards Net Zero affects all parts of the system; interestingly, some third-party arrangements will probably make the biggest difference to this.”
Orthopaedic packs On the same theme, the speaker had been listening to a discussion recently where orthopedic packs were cited, with the participants highlighting the difference that these can make when there is a focus on sustainability. He explained: “Rather than discarding multiple pieces of equipment and items not actually necessary, if you actually focus on what you need, huge improvements and savings can be made. So, Estates does have a role to play, but we need to do it in collaboration with others.” While he believed Northern Ireland had been one of the last parts of the UK, and indeed large parts of Western Europe, to have climate change legislation, Brendan Smyth said it had been achieved, with two climate change bills ‘running in parallel through the Executive for a time’. They came together, with some compromises, and the Executive had agreed a Climate Change Bill that included legal protection for ‘just transition’, affording some
Brendan Smyth said: “Staff told us the breakout spaces – particularly in response to the COVID pandemic – were invaluable.”
protection for the agricultural industry – where there had been fear of damage without some easement in respect of methane gas. The Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent later this year.
Well beyond Committee’s recommendations Brendan Smyth said: “Our new target of greenhouse gas reductions by 2050 actually goes well beyond the Climate Change Committee’s recommendations for Northern Ireland, with the Committee commending that ambition. The start of the process for that, though, is how we deliver those statutory goals. The implication for us is that we have to outperform all the Net Zero pathways that the Climate Change Committee has developed in preparing the UK’s Sixth Carbon Budget.” This, he acknowledged, would require ‘a major step-up in policy, and rapid progress over this decade, which must happen now’. The speaker said: “We don’t have any kind of leeway; otherwise we will not meet those targets. I think that – to some extent because of the delay in agreeing the Climate Change Bill legislation – we are ‘playing catch-up’ in some respects, such as the Building
Control Regulations. However, the targets will lose credibility if the policy focus does not shift quickly to implementation and successful delivery of outcomes. In the next few years then, we will see what progress we are making towards our ambitions.
No current ‘executive’ “And the way forward? – well, it’s difficult at the moment,” Brendan Smyth admitted. “We don’t have a fully functional executive at the moment; hopefully that gets repaired very soon. That’s essential, and needs that political commitment and drive. Without that we won’t succeed. I think there are opportunities for Estates professionals to develop innovative and imaginative proposals that will contribute towards these ambitions, and I believe that we can act as drivers for change within our own organisations.” He concluded: “We have to lobby; we have to put pressure on the decision-makers. I hope we are going to hear from speakers later on this afternoon that will put a bit more meat on the bones of some of these bright ideas, and show us how we achieve these ambitions on our journey to Net Zero. Thanks very much.”
+44 (0) 161 627 7947
www.safelocking.co.uk
Why is Key & Asset Management Needed? YOU ALWAYS KNOW
who removed the key and when it was taken or returned
ACCESS TO KEYS
via access code ,RFID card, biometrics
it was accessed and by whom MONITOR HOW OFTEN
to users individually DEFINE ACCESS RIGHTS
in steel cabinets or safes SECURE STORAGE
INVOKE ALERTS
in case of missing key or overdue keys
October 2022 Health Estate Journal 27
Courtesy of Donal McCann Photography / Avanti Architects
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124
