Expanding the focus from hospitals to healthcare
IFHE’s recent change of name recognises the shifting trends facing many of our members and their organisations: The need for a broadened focus beyond the hospital setting, to embrace the wider healthcare environment.- Whilst this trend may not be occurring in every country, it has been discussed at Executive Committee and Council meetings that the focus of IFHE has similarly expanded, says IFHE-president Darryl Pitcher
New areas include Elderly Care, Disability Care, Primary Healthcare, Domiciliary Care, Day-Surgery, Procedure and Treatment clinics, Pathology and Research Laboratories and Health related Educational organisations.
- The Design, Construction and Operation of these facilities have much in common with traditional hospitals, so it was appropriate that this should be recognised, Pitcher adds.
An electronic survey among A-members regarding the name-change started in July. At the Council meeting in Manchester in October a majority of Council members voted in favour to change the organisation’s name from the ‘International Federation of Hospital Engineering’, to the ‘International Federation of Healthcare Engineering’.
- This modification allows us to retain the acronym by which we are globally known and recognised (IFHE), and to continue to use our refreshed brand and logo, says the president of IFHE, Darryl Pitcher.