Consolidating and standardising asbestos management across a diverse, multi-location estate, which historically has been under the ownership and management of different organisations is no mean feat. The Asbestos Management team at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) was shortlisted for HEFMA’s 2024 Team of the Year award for its work to do just that.
The Asbestos Management team sits within the Estates and Facilities Division, which provides services to all ten MFT hospitals across Manchester and Trafford, as well as community premises, utilising in-house and PFI partners/service providers.
The MFT portfolio comprises a variety of properties of different ages, many of which date to the period when asbestos was widely used in construction. The diversity, varying age profile, number of different locations and size of this estate all make the management of asbestos significantly challenging. Historically, the various sites/hospitals would have sat within different Trusts and been subject to varying asbestos management and funding arrangements, adding further to the complexity. For instance, multiple asbestos registers were in use, various contractors and consultancies had been employed, different management policies/procedures/plans were in place and training was not consistent.
In 2021 the MFT E&F Division invested in the creation of an in-house Asbestos Management team, consisting of a Group Asbestos Lead, Group Asbestos Manager and three Site Asbestos Managers – aligned to the Oxford Road Campus (ORC); Wythenshawe, Trafford, Withington, Altrincham (WTWA) hospitals; and North Manchester General Hospital (NMGH).
Since its creation, the team has been working towards rationalising, understanding and standardising the approach to asbestos management across the Trust. This process has involved an assessment of the financial implications of asbestos management with a view to being able to predict these costs more accurately. Asbestos management is embedded throughout E&F and asbestos management team members work in partnership with in-house/PFI operational estates teams, property and estates development teams, health and safety, clinical/non-clinical ward/department leads, as well as liaising with senior leadership teams at the different hospitals and managed services.
The team has already carried out a significant amount of asbestos management and removal works, mostly associated with NMGH redevelopment works, with asbestos abatement and survey works ongoing at other sites. It has also carried out a full, in-depth review of asbestos training across the Trust and has developed and delivered training across a wide range of asbestos topics with bespoke elements targeted to individual roles and responsibilities. Courses include asbestos awareness, plant room colour coding, survey scoping and report reviewing, soft FM awareness and dynamic risk assessment. When completed, courses appear on individual staff learning hub records for internal MFT staff and a training register for non MFT staff, such as partner organisation staff.
Innovation
The Asbestos Management team has worked with MFT’s Digital Lead and partnered with a CAFM system company to develop an electronic asbestos register. This involved working with surveying companies to ensure all asbestos survey information is captured in a way that will support transfer to the MFT asbestos register. Populated with survey data, information on reinspection and asbestos removal, this register offers a ‘one stop shop’ for asbestos management at the Trust. The ease of access and increased usability the register provides enables checks to be undertaken by estates and project staff prior to starting maintenance or project works, thus assessing and reducing the risk of accidental disturbance of ACMs.
Other initiatives include developing digital mapping technology, which means there is no longer a need for anyone to access contaminated areas to view or plan projects, thus removing the risk of potential staff exposure alongside saving time and contractor costs.
Via an asbestos consultancy, the team has also participated in a trial of new technology, as part of a pilot scheme for real time asbestos air monitoring; traditionally results are via filter slide mounting and microscope counts of fibres.
Achievements
At the time of the award submission, this team had carried out 220 projects, both estates and capital led, reviewing requirements for asbestos works and involving review and production of survey scoping forms ensuring accuracy of survey requirements. Of these, 160 projects required additional asbestos surveys, 90 involved utilising licensed asbestos contractors for various tasks and 19 necessitated full notification to HSE (Health & Safety Executive) and required further work, such as post removal inspections, completion sign-offs, and updating the asbestos register following surveys and remedial works. 230 permits had been issued covering asbestos surveying, analytical and removal works.
