Older Persons landscaped courtyard garden accessed from Day/Dining room

Only two weeks on Monday until Christmas day….. P+HS Architects have organised a fantastic Christmas party this year on 21st December for all staff, a three course meal at the Baltic Restaurant in Newcastle, (with a few surprises from the P+HS Social Committee) followed by a few drinks on the way to finish the evening at the famous Apartment Bar where you may spot the odd celebrity or footballer having their Christmas tipple.
By now everyone in the Leeds office should have their name pulled out of a hat ready for Secret Santa to deliver that much needed surprise!…. Remember it is SECRET Santa so no spoiling the surprises on the 21st!

Thank you, all you lovely people who have embraced the blog with open arms and typing fingers. Since it’s Friday afternoon, maybe a few others could jump on the bandwagon…?

A quick reminder: Before you upload an image, please remember that it should be exactly 480pixels wide. If you don’t know how then don’t be afraid to ask someone else, or email them to me and I’ll happily do it myself.

The NHS last week opened the hundredth new health centre built under the Government’s NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) programme, a scheme aimed at improving community health services in some of the country’s poorest and most deprived areas.

Three new NHS LIFT health centres are opening inside the week, with the 100th building now open in St Helens (Longview Drive Centre) and further centres opening in East London (Frail Elders’ Centre) and in Thorne, Doncaster (The Vermuyden Centre). Over 70 further NHS LIFT health centres and GP surgeries are already under construction, while dozens more are being planned.

The £3 million Longview Drive Primary Care Centre houses a GP practice with an enhanced minor surgery suite. Patients can also access a wide range of services under the one roof, including health visitors, midwives and cardiac nurses.

Health Minister Lord Warner said:

“NHS LIFT is helping us deliver our vision of an NHS that treats more patients outside of large hospitals. The opening of the 100th new surgery shows that this vision is starting to become a reality.

“The NHS has never witnessed such a sustained investment in GP surgeries and health centres. Around £1 billion has already been earmarked for new buildings through NHS LIFT.

“These are purpose built facilities, where GP services are often on the same site as pharmacies and social services, and are not simple like-for-like replacements.

“The centres are more convenient for patients, particularly older patients and those with long-term conditions, as they offer more care closer to home.

“These modern, spacious and hygienic buildings also help improve the morale of staff working there and, help to attract more GPs into inner-city areas.”

Rather than simply replacing outdated facilities, NHS LIFT premises offer many services traditionally only found in hospitals. As well as GP surgeries, the buildings have delivered ’super surgeries’ where NHS patients can get minor surgery for hernia repairs, sports injuries and even vasectomies.

X-rays, medical tests, speech and language therapy, chiropody, physiotherapy and dentistry, are also now available in some of the new centres.

The NHS is continuing to make progress on the latest wave of NHS LIFT schemes. Seven wave four projects are proceeding towards appointment of their Private Sector Partner (PSP), their preferred bidder, and three of these are already at this stage.

The NHS LIFT programme is just part of the department’s major programme to modernise GP premises. Over 500 new one-stop health centres have been built since 2001, including those built under NHS LIFT. This will rise to 625 by the end of 2006 and hit 750 by the end of 2008.

In addition, during the last five years over 3,000 GP surgeries - almost one third of all surgeries - have recently been substantially refurbished or replaced.

The new community hospitals initiative, in which the Department will invest £750 million over the next five years, will complement this programme, providing many similar services, but on a bigger scale.

Notes:

1. Details on the three new NHS LIFT schemes are as follows:

Longview Drive Primary Care Centre (Halton & Knowsley PCT) - £3 million

• Health centre housing one GP practice (2-3 GPs) with an enhanced minor surgery suite, health visitors, midwives, cardiac nurses and a school nurse.
• Pharmacist and pharmacy technician attend the practice on a regular basis.
• Study areas for medical students and PCT staff
• Undergraduate Medical Students - the new development will allow it to apply for training practice status.
• Opened to patients on 6 November 2006.

East Ham Memorial Hospital - Frail Elders Centre (Newham PCT) - £14.6 million

• £14.6 million project that transfers services from the Sally Sherman nursing home and Plaistow hospital.
• Re-provision of services includes continuing care for the elderly, day hospital, elders resource centre, rehabilitation.
• Opened to patients on 7 November 2006.

The Vermuyden Centre, Thorne (Doncaster PCT) - £5.1 million

• £5.1 million centre built on a five-acre site.
• Contains 2 GP practices with 8 GPs.
• Also library, social services, housing advice, community dentistry, out-patient suite and some diagnostics including endoscopy.
• Open to patients 13 November 2006.

2. Developed in the late 1990s, NHS LIFT is the most extensive initiative in recent years to modernise the primary care estate.

3. In all, there are 49 NHS LIFT projects at various stages of development.

4. The 42 projects that have reached financial close have commissioned facilities with a total capital value of £951 million.

5. The Government has allocated £208m in Enabling Funds up to the end of 2005-06, to help kick start these developments.

6. One of the most effective aspects of NHS LIFT is that, while the department sets out the ground rules and provides the standard legal and other documentation, it leaves the actual planning of local facilities to those best able to plan them, namely, the people on the ground. The approach involves the local health economy - a PCT or a cluster of PCTs - developing a strategic plan that incorporates its local primary care service needs and relationships with, for example, the wider health economy and local authority services.

7. Based on the strategic plan, the NHS runs a competitive process to select a private sector partner for the next 20 years. The NHS and private sector then set up a joint venture company to manage the NHS LIFT project. They all own a share of the company and jointly have an interest in its long-term success.

8. NHS LIFT projects are all capable of delivering a number of new facilities and will provide new primary care facilities for some 50 per cent of the population.

9. The position of the wave four NHS LIFT schemes are as follows:

• Bolton, Rochdale and Heywood & Middleton (BRAHM): Eric Wright Group Ltd appointed preferred bidder
• Bury, Tameside and Glossop: Community Solutions for Primary Care appointed preferred bidder
• South East Essex: gbPrimaryCare appointed preferred bidder
• South Midlands: Currently has short-list of three bidders
• South East Midlands: Currently has short-list of three bidders
• South West Hants: Currently has short-list of three bidders
• Swindon and Wiltshire: OJEU stage completed and now working towards issue of Invitation To

Who said pipe boxings were unattractive?

Just look at this beauty that was discovered in a building recently offered for practical completion by the contractor [who shall remain nameless].

Please take a few moments to gaze in wonder at the skill and craftsmanship required by the joiner. He must surely be commended for his precision with a coping saw. To intricately scribe around the perimeter trim must have been extremely difficult and time consuming. I’m sure you will agree this magnificent pipe boxing is truly a sight to behold.

However, the skill of the decorator and ceiling fitter must also be acknowledged.

See what quality can be acheived when a competent and diligent contractor is employed on a project. Please take note.

NOT!!!

Chancellor Gordon Brown has said all new homes in the UK will be zero carbon rated within 10 years.
Speaking in his pre-Budget statement, the Chancellor said the target was designed to tackle domestic housing, which is responsible for 30 per cent of all carbon emissions.

He said: ‘Within 10 years all new homes will be zero carbon – we are the first country ever to make this commitment.’

Brown added that zero-carbon homes would be exempt from stamp duty.

He also announced that planning decisions on major infrastructure projects are to be made by an independent planning body.

The Chancellor said the Government will set out proposals in a White Paper in spring 2007, backing Kate Barker’s recommendations for improving the speed, responsiveness and efficiency of planning.

Among other developments, capital spending on education will rise to £10.2 billion a year by 2010.

Brown said: ‘It is right to reach a spending settlement on education through to 2011, to ensure that all 21,000 schools are fit for the 21st-century challenge.

‘In 1997 there was just £1.5 billion spent on education – by 2011 this will rise to £10.2 billion, a cumulative total of £36 billion spent over the next four years.

‘This means 12,000 new or completely refurbished schools, 100 colleges rebuilt and 3,500 new children’s centres across the country.’

Brown, effectively prime minister in waiting, also ruled out the introduction of the planning gain supplement (PGS) before 2009, in documents released at the same time as the statement.

The PGS – a windfall tax on the rise in land value enjoyed by landowners when they gain planning permission – was first mooted by Barker in her first report on housing supply in 2004.

The Treasury documents said: ‘Given the need to allow markets sufficient time to adjust to the new regime, the Government now proposes that a workable and effective PGS would not be introduced earlier than 2009.

‘PGS would be levied at a modest rate across the UK to generate additional revenue for investment in infrastructure at the local and regional levels, while preserving incentives for development to come forward.’

The document adds: ‘The Government now proposes that at least 70 per cent of PGS revenues would be hypothecated for local infrastructure priorities and would be returned to the local authority area in which they were generated.’

From the AJPlus

 I attended the first of two seminars organised by the Association of Project Safety (APS) in respect of the new CDM 2007 Regulations to come into force in April 2007.  The timescale is as follows:-

17 October 2006            Consideration of the regulatory package by HSC

                                    Update:  The HSC formally approved the draft CDM

                                    Regulatory package for formal proposal to Ministers.

November 2006             Deadline for Ministerial response on new CDM.

January 2007                 ACoP published(date to be advised)

6 April 2007                   Regulations come into force

Interesting items are:

1           The change in Clients duties and the removal of Clients Agents, in recognition of the large influence Clients have on a project, particularly time wise. Note – If Client fails to appoint CDM –Coordinator or Principal Contractor, Client takes on role by default!

2           The Proposed Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) no longer contains any ‘guidance’ material.

3           New phrase introduced to notifiable projects ‘Initial Design Period’ during which it is acceptable for CDM-Co-ordinator not to be appointed.  Period is legally undefined – APS opinion is that this could relate to initial RIBA design stages, say A to C.  Note – On notifiable projects, no designer should commence work, other than ‘initial design’ work unless CDM Co-ordinator has been appointed by the Client.  Reg 18 (1). Remember, Designers Duties apply on all projects regardless of size or status, not just when notifiable.

4           The important duty of advising the Client that CDM Regs. apply to a project and a Client is aware of his duties is still there.  The wording is ensure that the Client is aware of his duties.  I consider this is best achieved by the sending of a letter and advice leaflet at the time of appointment in order that there can be no doubt that we have ensured that the Client is aware of his duties, as per our present procedures.

5           The clarification of designers risk assessments as ‘project specific and concentrating on significant risks not obvious to those who use the design’.  However, APS point out that this appears to be at odds with the CDM Regulations.  My view is that we should, as designers, be aware of all risks, as recorded in our generic risk assessments, and only highlight the significant non-obvious to avoid excessive paperwork which is likely to be ignored.

6           Definition of design now includes calculations for design, and workplaces to be designed to comply with the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations.

7           Competence – note definition and assess yourself against this in Appendix A of the ACOP.

I will send an email advising where this latest information can be viewed on our system.