sponsored by HEALTH SECTOR NEWS HIS’s drive to tackle antimicrobial resistance boosted
Seven leading design and construction organisations are co-signatories for the next edition of The Silent Pandemic whitepaper led by the Healthcare Infection Society exploring how the built environment can help prevent healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) and tackle the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The organisations contributing their
expertise are:
n Arup. n Currie & Brown. n Introba. n Sisk.
n Laing O’Rourke. n Perkins&Will. n P + HS Architects.
All seven companies participated in the inaugural Silent Pandemic workshop in London in March, which brought together infection prevention specialists and design and construction professionals to examine how hospitals can be designed, built, and maintained, to reduce infection risks. The workshop’s outcomes were
captured in the initial Silent Pandemic report – which defined the scale of the problem, highlighted the key
challenges, and identified priority areas for practical action. This in turn directly led to the creation of the Built Environment and Infection Prevention Initiative (BEIPI), HIS’s dedicated group to drive collaboration between the infection prevention and built environment sectors. The next whitepaper will build on these foundations, ‘investigating deeper why the challenges continue to occur, and how collaborative working across industries is necessary to tackle them’. The HIS says HCAIs remain ‘one
of the most persistent and costly challenges’ facing global healthcare systems, and are a major driver of AMR, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared as one of the top global public health threats. “Antimicrobial resistance is
already undermining our ability to treat common infections and carry out routine procedures safely,” said Manjula Meda, Chair of HIS. “Through BEIPI, we’re bringing infection prevention experts and the construction sector together to ensure that the healthcare spaces we build today are fit to protect patients, staff and
Major £17.8 m expansion to NHS diagnostic services in Bridgwater
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has been given NHS England approval to build a new diagnostic centre next to Bridgwater Community Hospital. The £17.8 m facility will provide
a range of specialist diagnostic and outpatient services to the population of Bridgwater and the surrounding areas. The go-ahead follows the opening of a community diagnostic centre in Taunton in 2020, and the development of a diagnostic centre next to Yeovil Hospital, expected to open later this year.
The Bridgwater Diagnostic
Centre will run a range of services from two CT scanners, two MRI scanners, four outpatient rooms, and two echocardiography/ ultrasound rooms, providing the Bridgwater population with routine and specialist cardiac and cancer scanning, alongside clinics. David Craig, the Trust’s
Programme director for the project, said: “The new centre supports one of the three shifts of the NHS 10 Year Plan for England – transferring more care from hospitals into local communities. Running seven days a week, it will improve access for people in Bridgwater and the surrounding areas to specialist care, providing almost 25,000 additional scans every year. We have this month applied for planning permission for the new centre, and if approved, it is likely to open in Summer 2026. It will be developed by Ergea, a managed equipment supplier.”
communities tomorrow.” The new whitepaper will be
launched at IHEEM’s Healthcare Estates Conference in Manchester this October. Edith Blennerhassett, director, Arup,
said: “Tackling antimicrobial resistance in healthcare settings requires a combination of well-designed services, systems, and facilities, that can be easily operated and maintained, an excellent cleaning and disinfection regime, attention to gowning / PPE by clinical teams, and a focus on hygiene
more generally by all hospital users. This is why we are supporting HIS in the creation of the Built Environment and Infection Prevention Initiative, as it brings together all stakeholders in support of solving this critical challenge for safe healthcare delivery.” John Bodley-Scott, Senior Design manager at Sisk, added: “After participating in the Silent Pandemic Workshop, Sisk is delighted to join the steering committee for the HIS. We look forward to collaborating with other designers and contractors.”
Two European real estate software providers acquired
K1 Investment Management LLC has announced ‘a strategic investment’ to combine SINGU and Micad, two European-based real estate management software providers. Backed by K1, the combined company will ‘integrate its product offerings, expand AI capabilities, and scale its global team to further support customers’. KI says the partnership ‘creates a comprehensive platform that will offer commercial property managers leading-edge technology to streamline their operations’. It explained that together, the combined entity serves over 100,000 buildings, comprising over 250 million m2
in 35 countries. It said: “SINGU’s cloud-based
software suite brings strength in facility management, maintenance automation, and sustainability
reporting, while Micad’s platform adds expertise in asset, space, and compliance solutions.” K1 says it will
‘continue to invest in both platforms to ensure that each remains at the forefront of innovation, delivering
significant value to property owners and managers throughout Europe and the rest of the world’. Notable customers of the combined company include Prologis, CBRE, the NHS, Logicor, the University of Cambridge, and Unibail-Rodamco- Westfield. Peter Harris, MD of Micad,
(pictured), added: “Our integrated solution will deliver actionable strategic intelligence, empowering facility managers in healthcare, logistics, retail, higher education, government and other verticals to drive efficiency, compliance, and long-term value.” The financial terms of the
transaction were not disclosed. September 2025 Health Estate Journal 23
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
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