IFHE NEWS A message from the President


“From the communication I have had with various healthcare professionals around the world,” writes the IFHE’s President, Darryl Pitcher, “there is no doubt that healthcare systems are under the greatest stress they have ever been, with the worldwide impacts of COVID-19. The pressure that this pandemic is applying to people, governments, society, and financial markets, is unprecedented, and we are all feeling this in some way. For many of you this will be deeply personal, and our thoughts are with everybody who is suffering through this terrible crisis, as it takes a massive toll on human lives and wellbeing.


Bi-monthly videoconferences “The situation is changing rapidly, and it is increasingly difficult to keep up with the necessary responses to the crisis. The IFHE Executive Committee meets by video conference on a bi-monthly basis, and had met in November 2019 to follow up actions from the IHEEM Healthcare Estates 2019 conference in Manchester last October, and the ExCo and Council meetings held during the event. There were a number of actions relating to the name change of IFHE formalised in Manchester, including updating the logo, and formally advising our stakeholders. Other initiatives included our continued involvement with the World Health Organization, and attendance at its Executive Board meeting in February this year, and initiatives approved for action that Walt Vernon (USA) was leading on sustainability and energy reduction in healthcare. We also discussed planning for the May 2020 Rome Congress, and the 2022 Toronto Congress.


“With the 2020 Rome Congress, we would have been celebrating 50 years of IFHE in the birthplace of the organisation, so work was being undertaken to compile a historical review of the activities and people involved with IFHE since its establishment. The finalising of the 2020 Digest was discussed under the guidance of Andy Wavell (UK).


Concerns expressed about coronavirus


“It was at our February 2020 meeting that concerns were expressed about the Novel


Darryl Pitcher, IFHE President.


coronavirus, now dubbed COVID-19, which was emerging as a global threat. With what has since transpired, it now feels as if this conversation was so long ago, but the possibility of deferring the Rome Congress was initially discussed, and ExCo agreed to meet again two weeks later to reassess the situation. Those two weeks changed the world, and it was clear that with the emerging crisis, the 2020 IFHE Congress would inevitably need to be deferred. This decision was taken and communicated to IFHE members in mid-March. With the deferral of the 2020 Congress and associated IFHE meetings, the Executive Committee agreed that extending the tenure of all existing ExCo positions was in the best interest of maintaining the function of IFHE leadership. New dates for the Rome Congress were proposed, for which a watching brief will be adopted as the world continues to battle the pandemic crisis.


“In the light of the ongoing pandemic crisis, the IFHE has turned its attention to supporting its membership via the sharing of knowledge and experience, as all healthcare engineering professionals will be under increasing pressure to support their own health departments to contain the spread of COVID-19, and support the care of the huge numbers of sick.


Joint initiative with IHEEM and call for volunteers


“I especially draw your attention to our social media presence on Facebook and LinkedIn, and the new joint initiative announced recently between IHEEM, IFHE-EU, and IFHE, to which all members are encouraged to contribute. This is a global knowledge hub from which we can all learn from others’ experiences and share the collective wisdom – which is of course the main aim of IFHE. "In addition to this, an urgent request has just been made seeking volunteers to respond to WHO requests for assistance with COVID-19-specific facilities. This call has gone to IFHE member organisations and others, seeking design and engineering expertise to be established into regional rapid response teams to develop solutions at the WHO's request. Please consider if you, or others you know, could contribute to this, and respond, via email, to: internationalcovid19@iheem.org.uk “I earnestly hope that all of our IFHE family, and the members of individual national organisations, stay well during this incredibly difficult time, as I am sure you will all be pressed to deliver on increasingly challenging projects in playing your part to minimise the impact of this global health emergency. “I also urge all of our readers to stay well informed and to share truth. There is a lot that is being circulated that is unfounded or reactionary in its content – and therefore damaging to the populations of the world. There are good initiatives to support healthcare engineers in many countries and throughout the IFHE network; where possible, please share these through the global knowledge hub, and promote the excellent work being done by healthcare engineering professionals worldwide.


“The planned Congress in Rome in early 2021 will be a place where many experiences are shared, and valuable learning from this global experience will assist us all as we aim to make better healthcare available worldwide.”


Darryl Pitcher President, IFHE


Rome event now provisionally scheduled for next January postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the IFHE and Italian


The 26th International Federation of Healthcare Engineering Congress – IFHE 2020, themed ‘Global Climate Action Energy Requirements – A modern approach, the work organisation, the vision, and the future role of healthcare engineering’, due to have been held in Rome from 23-28 May this year, has been


host organisation, SIAIS, have confirmed.


Provisional new dates for the Congress are 23-28 January 2021 in Rome. Further information will follow over coming months.


May 2020 Health Estate Journal 25


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