The UK Building Regulations require that all enclosed workspaces be ventilated by either natural or mechanical means for human habitation and comfort but also for other reasons such as extraction of odours and gases, dilution and control of airborne pathogenic material, the removal of heat generated by equipment and issues such as condensation. Furthermore, healthcare facilities may require specialist systems for specific area such as operating theatres.

​

Health Technical Memorandum 03-01: ‘Specialised ventilation in healthcare premises’ is published in two parts: Part A deals with the design and installation of ventilation systems;

Part B covers operational management. The document gives comprehensive advice and guidance to healthcare management, design engineers, estates managers and operations managers on the legal requirements, design implications, maintenance and operation of specialised ventilation systems. Healthcare ventilation systems are highly complex and require consideration of a myriad of issues including.

​

• Air-change / flow rate, differential pressures and air quality factors.

​

• Ventilation delivery systems ductwork such as location, size, materials

​

• Use of fire and smoke dampers - control, access, insulation.

​

• Use of air-handling units (AHUs).

​

• Safety issues such as legionella, fire, electrical safety, leaks, insulation, cleanliness, filtration and drainage

​

• Control functions including energy management, environmental conditions and control sequence logic.

​

Our services include:

​

​

​

 

 

 

Documentation review: We will undertake a full offsite (or onsite if necessary) assessment of all your relevant documentation, procedures and processes. This will include a review of stated roles and responsibilities including executive teams, advisers, local ventilation and building management system  management and those managing ventilation system designers, installers and maintainers. A review of documents including policies; design control, risk assessments (and validation of follow up to action plans); documentation control of installation and maintenance companies;  details of inspections by third parties such as  CQC, etc.

 

Onsite assessment: We will attend every site covered by the scope of the scheme and assess the following:

​

• An assessment of the use of the documents previously reviewed with the relevant Trust fire teams.

• Undertaking a procedural assessment of document use to ensure an effective audit trail.

• Interviews with relevant staff and other third parties to assess their understanding of their responsibilities. 

• A record of our findings which will be included within our executive report.​

 

Report Preparation: We will prepare a specially formatted "AdashE" report designed for the Trust Executive. This will include all our findings within a single Trust Report  (where multiple sites are involved). The report will include a prioritised action plan.

​

Presentation of Results: We will arrange an onsite presentation to Trust representatives to formally give our findings together with suggestions. This will also include a question and answer session.

​

Our annual workshop will be held in one or more parts of the country and will address a number of key and topical issues of interest to those making use of authorising-engineer services.  The workshop will be developed in line with the development of the scheme.

​

Our post audit service is offered after a CQC or other third party audit where issues require urgent follow up. Up to two resource days per year are included in the scheme and is based on our offsite attendance which may include liaison with the auditing personnel. If onsite attendance is required, this will be charged for separately.

​

Our technical support service can be accessed via this website using the members portal. We will aim to respond within 48 hours. If onsite attendance is required, this will be charged for separately.

​