RECENT NEWS

Healthcare workers who wash their uniforms at home could unknowingly be contributing to the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections, new research has revealed.

The Water Management Society’s latest course focuses on the requirements for water hygiene training, as detailed in HTM 04-01: Safe water in healthcare premises, and the NHS Estates Technical Bulletin (NETB) No. 2024/3, 'Designing safe spaces for patients at high risk of infection from nontuberculous mycobacteria and other waterborne pathogens'.

Clubs, schools, day centres, and other community settings, could help make health and care more accessible, new research suggests.

The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) has warned that a recent recall of safety shoes sold via TikTok highlights ‘the alarmingly wide availability of substandard personal protective equipment (PPE) in the UK market’.

Assa Abloy Opening Solutions UK & Ireland Door Group (Door Group) has appointed Cormac Hardy as an Electronic Design engineer, through the Knowledge Transfer (KTP) Programme Associate initiative from Ulster University.

The Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) and the government property profession (GPP) have established ‘a strategic partnership’ to drive up standards and innovation across the government estate and workplace and facilities management (WFM) more widely.

Community Health Partnerships (CHP) has published Transforming Neighbourhood Health – a report into how its place-based estate, developed via LIFT Public Private Partnerships, is – as it puts it – ‘already enabling the delivery of neighbourhood care in local communities’.

Construction is underway on the National Centre for Child Health Technology (NCCHT) in Sheffield – described as ‘a pioneering research and technology centre that will tackle some of the biggest challenges in children’s healthcare’.

NHS South East London (NHS SE London) says it has identified the best sites for its first two women’s and girls’ health hubs ‘using innovative spatial analysis’.

Leading offsite manufacturer, McAvoy, in partnership with University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, has achieved zero landfill waste during the construction of a new Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) extension at Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham.

GP practices across England can now access new technology with the introduction of the first new core IT system for 25 years.

Millions of patients will be treated and cared for closer to their home by new teams of health professionals, the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has announced, as – in the words of the Department of Health and Social Care – the Government’s Fit For The Future – 10 Year Health Plan for England, published today (3 July), ‘delivers a brand new era’ for the NHS, and ‘one of the most seismic shifts in care in the history of the health service.’

Willmott Dixon has started a £30 m regeneration programme at Barnes Hospital, recently joining patients, carers, NHS staff, teachers, and local leaders across health and education, in marking the commencement of works to develop an NHS mental health facility and a new Special Educational Needs (SEN) school there.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for ‘urgent action’ to tackle what it calls ‘a global crisis of loneliness and social disconnection’, in a new report informed by the research of Professor Pamela Qualter from The University of Manchester.

New guidance has been published aimed at addressing a key knowledge gap around strategic asset management among UK workplace and facilities managers (WFMs).

Jill Nicholls (pictured) is stepping up from her current role as head of Service Development at The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) to replace Helen Yeulet as the Association’s new director of Competence and Compliance.

Insulation manufacturer, Rockwool, has opened a new global centre of excellence for fire-stopping at Hams Hall, on the outskirts of Birmingham, where it says it will manufacture ‘a new best-in-class range of products’.

The New Hospital Programme (NHP) has held an event to ‘kick-start ‘the next stage of procurement with shortlisted suppliers for the Hospital 2.0 Alliance.

NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has released a new NHS Estate Optimisation Guide ‘to help NHS leaders and estate managers navigate one of the most pressing challenges in modern healthcare: making the most of the places and spaces that support patient care’.

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has unveiled the third iteration of its framework agreement, Modular Buildings 3, to – as it puts it – ‘accelerate the construction of vital infrastructure across the UK’.