Wilson, G and Kishk, M (2011) Meeting sustainability requirements in the refurbishment of hospitals. In: Egbu, C and Lou, E C W (eds.) Proceedings of 27th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2011, Bristol, UK.
Abstract
Public spending across the United Kingdom is facing unprecedented challenges as a result of the economic downturn. Nowhere is this more keenly felt than the interface between the National Health Service (NHS) and the construction industry. Limited government investment is challenged by the ever evolving demographics and technological changes which are driving the need for flexibility and progress throughout the NHS. In tandem with these financial and evolutionary challenges, the NHS bears a legal responsibility to reduce its Carbon Footprint significantly, in line with the requirements of the Climate Change Act. Additionally, the service is driven by the organisational and legal requirements of the wider sustainability drivers. The emphasis on construction within the NHS has focused predominantly in the area of new build within the last 10 years. This paper discusses the need to focus on the area of Refurbishment. The main aim of this paper is to present a contextual basis for an ongoing research study to develop a sustainable refurbishment model for hospitals. A comprehensive literature review has been employed as the methodology to discuss the current situation relative to organisational, financial, and sustainability factors. It is demonstrated that an understanding of the nature of refurbishment is required. Challenges specific to refurbishment, such as lack of as-built data and information on the state of the existing fabric and services, may have significant effects on the project in regard to time and cost. It is further demonstrated that the hospital facility has unique characteristics and Client expectations which do not affect a 'standard' commercial refurbishment.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | climate change act; management; NHS; refurbishment; sustainability |
| Index terms: | new build, United Kingdom, literature review, health service, carbon footprint, climate change, construction industry, hospital facility, demographics, technological change, methodology |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, construction type, innovation studies, climate science, environmental impact, demography, industry analysis, construction integration, public and environmental health, research methods, Geography |
| Topics: | Urban Studies, Sustainability, Construction Technology, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here