RECENT NEWS

Paramedics will soon be able to access the mental health crisis plans of emergency patients while on the move, following the successful first pilot phase of the National Record Locator.

‘Hundreds more’ NHS mental health beds are needed urgently in England to help end what it dubs the ‘shameful’ practice of sending severely ill patients far from home for treatment, the Royal College of Psychiatrists has warned.

An independent report commissioned by the Royal College last December, Exploring Mental Health Inpatient Capacity across Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships in England, which was published on 6 November this year, estimates that 1,060 more mental health beds are needed to reduce bed-occupancy rates ‘to acceptable levels’.

Well-known architectural practice, P+HS Architects, which has its roots in Yorkshire and the North East, has announced that after 32 years with the firm – the last 10 as MD – Joe Biggs will retire at the end of November, and will be succeeded by co-director, Chris Dennis, with whom he has worked with and known for 40 years.

Following an early career in the south of England with a multidisciplinary practice, Joe Biggs has spent most of his working life with P+HS Architects, where he began his long association with healthcare. His first project was for Teesside Hospice, and, continuing along the healthcare route from that point, he went on to be involved in hundreds of successful projects – from small refurbishments to major new build hospitals and health centres.

Polyflor, one of the UK’s leading vinyl flooring manufacturers, has been appointed as a recommended supplier to the ProCure22 (P22) Construction Procurement Framework.

Administered by the Department of Health & Social Care, the P22 framework was created ‘to provide the NHS with the tools to deliver improved estate performance while lowering construction and maintenance costs’.

‘One of the UK’s best-known hospital furniture and fit-out brands’, Fife-based Havelock, has been acquired out of administration by contract furniture specialist, Deanestor for an undisclosed sum.

Deanestor said: “The Fife-based Havelock business became a UK market-leader in the manufacture and installation of furniture in the healthcare sector.”

Havelock Europa Plc was listed on the main London Stock Exchange for 31 years, from 1987 to 2018, with a peak turnover of £138 m in 2008. In 2001 it acquired ESA McIntosh. Havelock International was incorporated in 2016, and in 2018 the business of Havelock Europa was sold to Havelock International. The deal for the intangible assets of Havelock International also includes the hospital fit-out brand, ESA Healthcare.

The Care Quality Commission’s annual assessment of the state of health and social care in England, 'State of Care 2018/19', shows that quality ratings have been maintained overall – but suggests that people’s experience of care is determined by whether they can access good care when they need it.

A new survey released today by NHS Providers has found that 82% (161) of NHS Trust leaders think the current climate of restricted capital funding ‘poses a medium or high risk to patient safety’, and could undermine plans to transform the NHS.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham say they have created an antimicrobial coating for steel surfaces which has proven in a trial to rapidly kill bacteria that cause some of the most common hospital-acquired infections.

The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has – as it puts it – ‘smashed targets’, saving £242,681 in 19 months, and triumphing in the Reuse category of the NHS Sustainability Awards, with the help of the Warp It system that helps staff to reuse and recycle.

Abloy UK has launched a new RIBA-approved CPD training course, entitled ‘Digital Transformation in Physical Security’, which attendees can complete to achieve double CPD points.

An innovative partnership with Engage to Change – a scheme in Wales which helps those aged 16-25 with learning disabilities and / or autism develop their work skills through paid work placements – is ‘helping to change the lives’ of such young people in North Wales, with the support of the NHS.

Vodafone Business Ventures and learning disabilities charity, Mencap, say their newly launched ‘Connected Living’ scheme aims to use Internet of things (IoT) technology and connectivity to enhance the quality of life for people with a learning disability via ‘bespoke software adapted to meet the unique needs of its users’.

The Government should spend £8 billion immediately ‘to restore the quality of and access to adult social care in England to acceptable levels’, and then introduce free personal care, funded through general taxation, over a five-year period, says a House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee report, 'Social care funding: time to end a national scandal', published on 4 July.

Extra funding to help local authorities strengthen and deliver local suicide prevention plans, updated professional standards for England’s social workers to increase their knowledge and skills when helping those with mental health issues, and training for all new teachers on spotting the signs of mental ill health, were among ‘a raft of prevention measures’ unveiled by Prime Minister, Theresa May, on 17 June.

Canada’s new $405m Saskatchewan North Battleford Hospital in North Battleford, Saskatchewan provides a 284-bed mental health facility with 188 beds, replacing the existing 156-bed facility, and a 96-room secure unit for male and female offenders living with mental illness.

The Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) has launched a Best Practice Guide entitled ‘How to obtain Key Copy Protection: security and protection advice regarding copying of keys’, which it says offers information on minimising the risk of a security breach by preventing the unauthorised copying of keys.

'The Nature Issue', the fourth in a series of ‘Design with People in Mind’ booklets published by the Design in Mental Health Network to date, takes a broad-ranging look at the ‘multi-sensorial’ therapeutic benefits of nature on the well-being and recovery of those with a range of mental healthcare issues.

Once again co-authored by Professor Paul Reavey, Professor of Psychology at London South Bank University (LSBU) and lead of the DIMHN’s Research and Education workstream, and Katharine Harding, an associate at Conran and Partners and doctoral researcher at LSBU, the guide is based on ‘a summary of evidence’, and considers the way in which nature impacts on how people behave, ‘contributing to the overall atmosphere and management of healthcare environments’. While acknowledging that space and funding constraints can preclude the provision of large outdoor areas for service-users and staff in some mental healthcare settings, the introduction says evidence suggests that ‘access to even small amounts of nature’ can reduce stress and aggression for many, which can in turn increase safety and ‘perhaps facilitate ‘less risk-averse’ practices.

Offsite construction specialist, the McAvoy Group, has appointed its first CEO and a new MD, further strengthening its management team, and says it has plans to double the size of its existing business by 2025.

Eugene Lynch (pictured left), the company’s managing director since 2007, has taken up the position of chief executive; he will lead the Group’s expansion into the residential sector, and spearhead the investment, development, and launch, of a new offsite housing factory.

Meanwhile Mark Lowry (right) has joined as MD, taking full responsibility for the existing business and the continued delivery of its strategic growth plan. He has over 30 years’ experience leading highly successful companies in the construction industry. He was formerly Group director of CRH, the world’s second largest building materials group, with 90,000 staff and sales of €26.8 billion, and, prior to that, managing director of Northstone, Northern Ireland’s largest building materials and construction group, which includes Farrans Construction.

UCL’s Bartlett Real Estate Institute (BREI) in London is launching a ‘unique’ MSc programme in Healthcare Facilities that will explore how the physical environment affects healthcare.

The Healthcare Facilities MSc, reportedly the UK’s first of its kind, will consider the challenges facing healthcare real estate provision and operation, and provide healthcare and built environment professionals with the knowledge to plan, design, and manage facilities. Those running the course say it will help participants prepare for a rewarding career in sectors such as healthcare planning, architecture, or construction, or in the capital/estates and facilities departments of healthcare services.

TODD Architects has completed The Croft in Newtownabbey, County Antrim, a ‘state-of-the-art supported living development specifically designed for people living with early stage dementia’.

The architects worked with worked with Choice Housing, the Northern Health and Social Care Trust, and the Northern Ireland Executive, to develop and deliver the bespoke scheme in the Abbots Cross area of the Belfast suburb. The 24 new-build self-contained apartments are arranged as a village, ‘encouraging residents to follow a conventional life pattern, designed for their safety, therapy, wellbeing, and ease of accessibility’.

TODD Architects said: “The design surpasses current standards for supported housing and dementia care, setting a new precedent of quality, enabling people with a care need to continue to live independently in the community, with the completed building providing a bright, secure, and pleasant place in which to live.”