RECENT NEWS

Heatherwood Hospital in Berkshire, designed by multidisciplinary design practice, BDP, has been named the best elective care centre in England by patients.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are being given the chance to engage with their bigger counterparts, along with education and governments, ‘to help drive policy reform, close the skills gap, and generate growth’, with the recent Westminster launch of The Enginuity Alliance, ‘a unique body structured to help British industry compete with the strictures and challenges ahead’.

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has launched three new soft facilities management (FM) procurement solutions designed to ‘enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and ensure high-quality environments for NHS patients, staff, and visitors’.

Construction company, development specialist, and property management business, Stepnell, has opened a new office in Liverpool’s Albert Docks, in a move that it says ‘marks a significant step’ in its expansion into the North West.

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has published a fully revised version of its long-established industry guidance, DW145: Installation of Fire Dampers and Smoke Dampers.

Barts Life Sciences, a partnership between Barts Health NHS Trust and Queen Mary University of London, has partnered with Waltham Forest College to launch a new Health and Life Sciences Hub, designed to expand education, skills, and career opportunities, across North East London.

NHS Property Services says work to deliver a ‘state-of-the-art’ health and care facility in Trowbridge in Wiltshire has begun, after the multi-million-pound project was ‘given the green light’.

A report just published explores the value of the LIFT portfolio – highlighting the benefits and advantages of the buildings to local communities and health systems, and comparing the relative cost of the LIFT estate to the broader NHS and commercial estate.

New solar panels, improved heating systems, and LED lighting are to be installed at hospitals across Powys, alongside upgrades to roof and pipework insulation, thanks to a £4.2 m injection of Welsh Government funding.

A major task to update National Occupational Standards (NOS) for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) sectors is taking place, and the sector is being asked to help by offering their insights through a public consultation process.

Property group, Eddisons, has appointed a highly experienced healthcare specialist, Kate Deakin, to its valuation team as a director.

With research suggesting that 84% of NHS leaders struggled to access funding due to lack of understanding or challenges with the application process, and that 54% had ‘a lack confidence’ in combining multiple sources of capital, NHS Property Services launched a new NHS Guide to Estate Funding at the recent NHS Property 2024 conference in London.

Fusion21 has announced the renewal of its national Building Safety and Compliance Framework, worth up to £800 million over four years, and is now inviting bids from interested suppliers providing regional, or national coverage.

Abloy UK has further strengthened its team with the appointment of Mike Harrison as Business Development Manager for Healthcare.

Provider of sustainable temporary power solutions, Power Electrics, has ‘transitioned’ from being privately owned to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), in what the company dubs ‘an exciting development’ and a ‘significant milestone in its long-standing commitment to its people, customers, and suppliers’.

Buildings will become safer and more sustainable if building services engineers take a broader approach, said CIBSE President, Fiona Cousins, speaking as a guest on the industry podcast ‘Behind the Built Environment’, hosted by the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).

Information Commissioner, John Edwards (pictured), has urged organisations across the UK to recognise the real-world impact of data breaches – ‘and the devastating effects they can have on people’s lives’.

The UK’s 9.4 million STEM workers are wasting on average six hours every week thanks to a lack of access to advanced AI tools, according to a new ‘in-depth’ study, How the STEM world works, by STEM specialist, SThree.

Artelia says it has ‘strengthened its position as one of Europe's top 10 engineering companies’ with the acquisition of Pick Everard, a long-standing player in the UK consultancy sector.

As part of the Group's GreenUp strategic plan, Veolia Water Technologies has opened a new Life Science Centre of Excellence near Dublin to ‘drive water treatment innovation, growth, and training in Europe and beyond for the pharmaceutical, science and healthcare markets’.