Clearly a barrier to fire Wood, Mike When alterations or refurbishments are being undertaken, ensuring the right fire– resistant glass is selected is crucial, both to assure safety and stay within the law. Mike Wood offers some points to consider. Paradoxically, it is often easier to undertake a major refurbishment of premises than a minor […]
stategy game, The Millman, Jonathan Jonathan Millman calls for a return to proactive, forward-thinking management of the NHS estate, embracing new technology. Frank Dobson, Secretary of State for Health, has made 220m available over the next three years to address issues related to modernisation of the estate (addressing privacy, dignity and access). However there is […]
Fast-track air travel Lowe, David When the first round of PFI contracts were awarded in 1997 the gun was fired in the race to be the first to complete. Amec romped home in 27 months at the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, largely due to close team working and the use of simultaneous construction and design. The […]
Labour pledges to renew NHS at 50th birthday party Tony Blair gave a rousing speech to delegates at the NHS Confederation’s celebration of the 50th birthday of the NHS, sounding a note of reform as he attacked the internal market for “doing great damage, often undermining the values of the NHS”. He hinted at the […]
Low level risks Wagstaff, Dave Injuries caused by slippery floors hurt managers as well as clinical staff and patients, though the right floor can provide a safe environment even when wet. Dave Wagstaff reports for HD. A recent Nuffield Trust report entitled `Improving the health of the NHS workforce’ states that sickness absence costs the […]
Primary movers Parker, James Introduction by Chris Shaw One of the reasons I’m here is that I’ve been re-drafting Health Building Note (HBN) 36. This is one of the HBNs that deals with intermediate care facilities which I wrote along with John Temple, four or five years ago, and it is now deemed to be […]
Fast-track fire detection The installation of Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s two integrated fire detection systems was one of the largest of its kind in the UK. Defensor Fire Detection Systems has just commissioned a major installation of Notifier fire detection systems at the new Birmingham Children’s Hospital (pic, right). The hospital had outgrown its present location […]
Better buy design Maxwell, Gavin This article is intended as a contribution to a debate which recent reports and articles in Hospital Development have raised to some prominence – the possibility of a relationship between architecture (as distinct from design) and clinical outcome. I shall position this contribution within the more general subject area of […]
Design and Health – The Therapeutic Benefits of Design Parker, James Design and Health – The Therapeutic Benefits of Design, edited by Alan Dilani, 2001, AB Svensk Byggtjanst, Stockholm, B&W illustrations, 327pp ISBN 91 7332 963 01 This book collects the presentations and papers from the Design and Care in Hospital Planning 2000 conference, which […]
Renal system Hospitals have an increasingly diverse range of needs when it comes to finding the right type of accommodation. With rising demands being placed on all areas of the healthcare sector, it is vital that these needs can be met quickly and efficiently. Portakabin’s Duplex Building System uses individual volumetric all-steel modules to rapidly […]