HOSPITALS IN A MARINE ENVIRONMENT
Climate andotherchallenges for Cornish hospitals
Speaking at the IHEEM 2018 Regional Conference & Exhibition in Cardiff last year – the event was held in August almost exactly 75 years to the day after the Institute’s foundation on 28 August 1943 – James Tinsdeall, head of Estates Operations and Trust Health and Safety at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, discussed some of the challenges for the design and maintenance of hospitals in a marine environment.
James Tinsdeall began his presentation at the conference, which was held at Cardiff City Hall, by explaining that he would be discussing ‘real estates-related problems’ that were ‘entirely new to him’ on moving to an NHS Trust in Cornwall after working immediately before for the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. By way of context, he explained that the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust has three main sites – the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, St Michael’s Hospital in Hayle, and the West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance. He said: “In focusing on the impact of being located close to the sea on the design and maintenance of these hospitals, there are a number of key considerations – including each facility’s distance from the sea, the prevailing wind direction, breaking surf, the shape of the land, what is in the shade and what is sheltered, and the local climate.” Beginning with ‘the climate’, James Tinsdeall said the weather in Cornwall was ‘generally very temperate’, with very few frosts. He added: “The temperature here very rarely goes above 25˚C, primarily due to the impact of the sea. In the summer, the sea temperature can get up to around 18˚C, while in the winter it may fall to about 7˚C. From one side of Cornwall to the other is not very far, so everywhere is pretty close to the sea.” He added: “Snow is exceptionally rare here; the first I had seen in Cornwall was last winter. Our hospitals are, however, all exposed to the wind, and particularly the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Treliske, because it is built on the highest piece of land in the area. The wind really has an impact. Cornwall sees more rain than many parts of the UK,” he continued, “while if I compare the average night and day temperatures throughout the year in Oxford, where I previously worked, and Truro, in the winter Cornwall tends to be about 3-3.5˚C warmer than the middle of the country, and in the summer usually a degree or two cooler. Rain-wise, Oxford experiences an average 102 rain days annually, compared with 136 days per year in Cornwall.”
n West Cornwall Hospital n St Michael’s Hospital n Royal Cornwall Hospital
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All three of the Trust’s main hospitals – the Royal Cornwall, St Michael’s in Hayle, and the West Cornwall, are located close to the sea.
Local roofing issues
James Tinsdeall moved next to examine some of the issues around roof design in the hospitals in Cornwall that his team looks after. He said: “One is that moss will grow on the roofs all year round, while the wind-driven rain will overcome any shallow roof pitches. Lightweight slates probably also need clips on the bottom; otherwise they lift. Roof plant, meanwhile, can become increasingly difficult to
maintain because we suffer with seagulls, which I will come on to later.” Here he showed a slide of one of the hospital roofs in the summer ‘with about an inch of moss’ growing on it, and a ‘collection’ of three seagulls. He said: “The reason that we get moss all year round is that the moss doesn’t burn off from the roof as much as it does elsewhere in the country.” Showing a diagrammatic slide of a low pitched roof, he explained: “The 20
The view from the roof of the West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance. January 2019 Health Estate Journal 43
James Tinsdeall
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