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Celebrating 75 years of healthcare

Julian Amey, chief executive of the Institute of Healthcare Engineering & Estate Management (IHEEM), outlines what the coming year holds for the organisation.

Coinciding with the 70^th anniversary of the NHS, IHEEM – founded in 1943 – will be celebrating its 75^th anniversary in 2018.

Drawing on the expertise of its wide-ranging individual and affiliate members, IHEEM seeks to mark its anniversary celebrating heritage and innovation. The overarching theme has been agreed as ‘heritage, innovation and the membership balance,’ and to make the best use of resources the major standing events organised by IHEEM and its partners will focus on topics relating to the overarching theme.

Key projects and initiatives associated with the strategic plan also form part of the anniversary celebrations. These include:

• The focus on apprentices includes the launch of an apprentice bursary, special streams for apprentices at the main events and an award for the outstanding apprentice of the year. Lord O’Shaughnessy, permanent under secretary at the Department of Health & Social Care – who spoke at IHEEM’s national conference in October 2017 – has agreed to become the apprentice champion in the sector;
• There will be awards for the longest-serving members;
• Diversity is also a key feature of the anniversary. As active members of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s (RAEng’s) Diversity Concordat, a panel has been formed to promote the role of women in the sector, and Dr Hayaatun Sillem, who took up her role as chief executive of RAEng in January, has been elected as an honorary fellow of the institute;
• The Carter Award for Innovation, launched in 2017, will be presented by Lord Carter (honorary patron of IHEEM) at the institute’s Hospital Innovations Conference on 6 June at University College London;
• The launch of an advisory group of industry leaders, including Simon Corben, head of profession estates & facilities management at NHS Improvement (NHSI); Kevin Oxley of Oxford NHS Trust; Michael Smeeth of GE; Dame Barbara Hakin; Professor Cath Noakes of Leeds University; Professor Alan Short of Cambridge University; Professor Andrew Price of Loughborough University; and Paul Jackson, former CEO of EngineeringUK, will provide feedback to the board from the wider sector about IHEEM’s strategic direction;
• HBE Ltd, a trading subsidiary formed by IHEEM and HefmA, will act as the platform for assisting NHSI to improve the coordination of technical guidance.

The main events are:

• The two major conferences: Hospital Innovations on 6 June in London, and IHEEM’s annual conference, exhibition and awards dinner, Healthcare Estates, on 9-10 October in Manchester;
• The IHEEM Authorising Engineer Conference & Exhibition will be held on 14 March in Birmingham;
• The September IHEEM 2018 Regional Conference and Exhibition will be held on 6-7 September in Cardiff;
• The November seminar linked to the President’s Address, the accession of the new IHEEM president at the October AGM, will feature an eminent lecture by a well-known industry leader.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
W: www.iheem.org.uk