CAPITAL EQUIPMENT SELECTION VR equipment is increasingly being used in the planning and design of new hospitals.
Trust equipment makes and models, and clinical user training.
n Estates teams – with specific regard to power supply, ventilation, water supply / filtration, drainage, specialist plant, and maintenance issues.
n Infection Protection and Control, for advice on the suitability of materials such as worktops for drug preparation etc.
n Back care specialists – for advice on moving and handling equipment and variable height workstations, for example.
n Supplies and Materials Management teams – to support procurement strategies and processes, and with reference to future stock storage and consumables, and any impact for storage space requirements.
n Pharmacy – with specific reference to drug storage, preparation areas etc.
n Facilities – with specific regard to food preparation equipment, but also the general cleaning of equipment and support storage space requirements.
n Informatics Teams – to ensure compatibility with Electronic Patient Record (EPR) systems, data storage, data protection, system connectivity, cybersecurity, and server capacity etc.
Transfer / move considerations When transferring wards or departments, as part of wider hospital moves, and in line with the requirements of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, we should ask what we need in place on a new ward for the safe transfer of patients? It is usually necessary to have temporary equipment on the new ward during patient transfer periods. The type of equipment needed will vary depending on the clinical specialty of the ward and the condition of the patients being transferred. I would suggest that a crash cart with defibrillator and resuscitation equipment are in place, along with oxygen flowmeters, suction controllers, and some key consumables and drugs, as appropriate. For higher
acuity areas, patient monitoring will likely also need to be considered through clinical assessment and the nature of the move itself. This equipment may need to be borrowed or hired for the duration of the move, and the associated costs factored into the equipment planning budget. If the plan includes the transfer of imaging equipment, it is important to consider how the service will be provided during the decommissioning, move, installation, and re-commissioning phases. Is it possible or practical to hire a mobile unit for the duration? These costs need to be considered and factored into the project and equipment budgets.
Storage Careful thought needs to be given to the storage of new equipment, and the timing of equipment deliveries, aligned to the equipment commissioning activity in preparation for the first patient. Whether storage is on or off site, security and storage environmental management are important. By transferring responsibility for the procurement of items such as desks and chairs to the main contractor, there is an opportunity to transfer risk and responsibility, reasonably enabling Trust teams to focus purely on the clinical equipment. Having taken delivery and developed
a commissioning plan it is important to consider waste disposal. Some suppliers use recyclable packaging, and can arrange to collect it from site, while others use disposable packaging that will quickly build up, particularly for major hospital building programmes. Waste materials are likely to be a mix of cardboard, wooden pallets, and plastic / polystyrene, and therefore arrangements should be considered with the principal contractor early during the design and construction planning phases, and appropriate requirements included in equipment tender specifications. Having an Equipment Project manager from an early design stage is important
from a clinical, structural, digital, and utility provision perspective. An early understanding of the equipment requirements of a new build, alongside the early development of delivery strategies for these requirements, will help to avoid expensive delays, changes, and other costs either during and/or after the build. Having a clear understanding of how the new build will be equipped informs the provision of service outlets, along with structural considerations such as floor loading, minimum ceiling height requirements, and stud positions in walls for mounting hardware etc. There is an interdependency of medical equipment on the digital design which should be understood and included in the digital architecture. Stakeholder engagement is invaluable for developing the equipment bill of quantities to ensure clinical suitability, and to inform a detailed equipment strategy that is ultimately needed for each stage of the project to support successful delivery.
Giles Hartley
Giles Hartley MSc, IIPEM, MIHM, Dip HSC (open) RCT, has worked in electronics all his working life, starting in the private sector before joining the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s Medical Physics team, where he spent 33 years. He has a Master’s degree in clinical engineering, and was a Service manager in the Clinical Engineering section, responsible for operational service delivery and equipment management, and leading 53 staff. Semi-retired from the job that he loved, he says he was ‘lucky enough to join the Building the Leeds Way Programme Team’, where he has spent the last three years working part time in the role of Equipment Project manager. His long and varied career has given him experience of equipping new builds, such as the Jubilee Wing at the Leeds General Infirmary in 1997, and the Bexley Wing Cancer Centre at Leeds’ St James’s University Hospital in 2007.
September 2024 Health Estate Journal 51
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
