Design changes, protracted negotiation with the preferred bidder and procurement delays led to a 20% rise in the cost of the construction of the £15.2m PFI Laboratory and Pharmacy Services Centre at Altnagelvin Area Hospital, a Northern Ireland Audit Office report revealed this week.

As this year’s World Congress on Design & Health approaches, John Wells-Thorpe deplores the lack of will in applying scientific research into the health effects of quality design.

THE importance of ICT in developing healthcare will be given a new focus with the appointment of an associate director for Lincolnshire hospitals.

Workspace provider Welconstruct is providing bespoke design and build sterile services facilities with a £1.1m contract for Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust in Oxford, UK.

Storage is growing at an accelerating rate, and data is becoming more valuable by the day. However, it is green issues such as power consumption, cooling costs and carbon footprint as well as server management that is driving major strategic moves towards server consolidation and new approaches to business continuity.