RECENT NEWS

Many contractors are still ignoring safety regulations despite repeated warnings that measures introduced by the Building Safety Act are already in place and affect every project, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has appointed Kier to deliver a new £60 m, 54-bedded acute inpatient mental health hospital in Bexhill as part of its Re-designing Inpatient Services in East Sussex (RIS:ES) Programme.

Stepnell has commenced refurbishment work at Walton Hospital, Chesterfield, to create a dedicated ward for older adults with functional mental health issues in Derbyshire.

NHS Property Services’ latest annual report reveals that it delivered £45.9 m in cost efficiencies for the health service during 2022/23, a 4% increase on the previous year’s performance.

Helvar says it is ‘taking a revolutionary step in its offering’ with a new hybrid lighting control solution that combines its wireless Helvar ActiveAhead and wired Helvar Imagine solutions for ultimate design flexibility.

Right FM, a specialist facilities management (FM) company, juts launched, whose key personnel have 40 years’ combined experience in the sector says it is ‘poised to transform the way facilities management is approached, delivering sustainable solutions and significant cost savings for clients’.

Children’s mental health is being jeopardised by financial pressures on parents, overcrowded housing, and lack of safe green spaces, says new research by Centre for Mental Health.

Kingsway says its new anti-ligature Shower Door will not only help staff improve patient safety in mental health en-suite bathrooms and washroom areas, but will also help maintain service-user privacy and dignity.

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has appointed Simon Lunt (pictured) as its first head of Business Development as part of a wider strategic review.

‘Pioneering efforts’ by the former World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, Frank Bruno, who is helping people with mental ill health back into work, have been welcomed by Health Minister, Maria Caulfield, during a visit to the Frank Bruno Foundation in Northampton.

Stone wool insulation manufacturer, Rockwool, has launched a new CPD (Continuing Professional Development) module to help roofing contractors and specifiers assess and mitigate potential fire safety risks for flat roofs used as additional functional space of a building.

‘Procurement expert’, Fusion21, has announced the suppliers successfully appointed to its national Building Improvements Framework, worth up to £346 million over a four-year period.

Developed around the concept of a ‘village campus’, a new medium secure hospital at the heart of the £60 m redevelopment of Northgate Park Hospital in Morpeth, Northumberland, provides a range of indoor and outdoor settings for relaxation and activity, ‘relieving boredom, and addressing the risk of challenging behaviours and poor physical health’.

Altro has been appointed as a recommended supplier on ProCure23 (P23), the fourth generation of the ProCure framework for the design and construction of NHS capital projects.

NHS Estates teams are increasingly turning to digital solutions to help them run and manage their buildings and facilities efficiently, but often systems are not ‘joined up’, delegates at a roundtable held by business enterprise Wi-Fi solution specialist, SPARK TSL, to discuss digital enablement within healthcare estates heard.

Willmott Dixon is making some changes to its main board from the start of this year following the retirement of Colin Enticknap as the company’s Executive Chairman at the end of 2023.

Global heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration specialist, Carrier, is urging building owners and operators to apply for UK government grants to commercialise and construct new low- and zero-carbon heat networks before the funding application deadline expires.

Zentia, a UK supplier of ‘complete ceiling solutions’, says its new Biobloc family, formerly known as Bioguard, offers high-quality performance in areas such as infection control and acoustics, ‘making it the ideal solution for healthcare and various commercial settings’.

Abloy UK has launched CLIQ Local Manager (CLM) Remote, enabling users to update key authorisations and make changes to schedules via wall programming devices, offering a flexible access control solution.

Substantially revised degree apprenticeships for building services engineering will help employers plug critical skills gaps and launch more young people into rewarding careers, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).