Below are this week’s key messages from the national NHS Estates & Facilities Team. Please email any questions or comments you have on any of these items to: [email protected] or follow the links where provided.
Technical Standards and Guidance (HBN/HTM Documents)
The documents have moved and can be accessed from the new dedicated page on the NHS England and NHS Improvement website (NHS England » Estates technical guidance.)
Standard DHSC web protocol is to mark documents as ‘withdrawn’ as part of the redirect to our new site. We are aware that this message on the .gov.uk site is creating the impression that individual HBN and HTM documents have been withdrawn. This is not the case - all the documents hosted on our NHS England and NHS Improvement site are current.
The status of a document can be checked here: NHS England » Complete list of publications related to NHS estates which will include details of any documents that have been updated/archived and the dates this took effect.
Staff Car Parking
NHS Trusts should be aware that Guidance on finance and contracting arrangements for H2 2021/22 has been published as part of a suite of documents under the heading NHS Operational Planning and Contracting Guidance. This confirms that staff parking should continue to remain free during the pandemic.
Paragraph 39 refers - NHS hospitals are required to provide free car parking for disabled people, frequent outpatient attenders, parents of sick children staying overnight and staff working night shifts. In addition, Trusts should continue to provide free car parking at their sites for NHS staff for the duration of the pandemic, in line with the Government’s policy, alongside providing free parking for those eligible groups above. Funding to Trusts for these policies was included in H1 envelopes and has been rolled over in to H2 envelopes.
In case of any queries please e-mail: [email protected] marked for the attention of Gill Donachie.
Construction Works and Associated Services 2 / ProCure23
The Construction Works and Associated Services 2 / ProCure23 (P23) invitation to tender is now open. P23 enables NHS client to access experienced and proficient partners to support across all aspects of NHS capital project delivery, with the capacity and expertise to deliver on projects and programmes of all sizes. NHS England and NHS Improvement is working with the Crown Commercial Service to deliver the new framework. Please see this link for further details.
We would also like to thank those colleagues who have expressed an interest in supporting the process for evaluating the resultant tenders. We will be back in touch to advise on the next steps.
Roadmap for suppliers to reach Net Zero by 2045
The NHS England and NHS Improvement Board has approved a detailed roadmap that sets out our expectations of suppliers over the next decade. Over 60% of the total NHS Carbon Footprint sits within our supply chain, so reducing emissions from our supply chain is crucial if we are to become net zero by 2045. These include emissions from freight, the manufacturing of goods, catering, business services and construction. We need our suppliers to be aligned with this ambition and to understand our long-term expectations. You can find out more on the NHS Estates and Facilities Collaboration Hub. For any further queries please e-mail: [email protected].
PLACE and PLACE-Lite
The national webinar took place on September 30 with over 700 members of the estates and facilities community in attendance. A recording of the webinar will be available from the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub in the near future. For any further information about either PLACE or PLACE-Lite then please e-mail: [email protected] marked for the attention of Gill Donachie.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Changes to Infection Prevention Control Requirements
The UKHSA has recommended three pragmatic changes to COVID-19 infection prevention and control (IPC) advice to help ease pressure on the NHS. Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer, and Professor Steve Powis, National Medical Director, wrote to the sector to let them know about these changes and to thank them for their continued commitment and leadership in ensuring excellence in IPC.
Looking After You Too: Coaching support for BAME staff working in the NHS
One to one wellbeing coaching support is available for BAME colleagues in the NHS workforce. Talking to a trained coach can help you process experiences you may be facing, develop coping skills and develop practical strategies to manage situations and maintain your health and wellbeing. All coaching sessions are free and confidential – details will never be shared with employers. Please use this link to book a session.
Consultation: Coronavirus and Flu vaccinations for NHS staff and social care workers in England
The DHSC has launched a consultation on making coronavirus and flu vaccinations compulsory for frontline NHS staff and social care workers in England. The consultation runs until October 15 and further details can be found here.
Skills for Health: Health Heroes Awards Nominations now open including Exceptional NHS Operational Support Worker of the Year
Do you know an Operational Support worker who you want to celebrate?
Sponsored by UNISON, this award celebrates the thousands of individuals working in non-clinical roles, without whom the healthcare system could not function. From the porters, the cleaners, the receptionists, the gardeners, through to the administrators, security guards, researchers, technicians, and hundreds more. Please see the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub for further details and here.
NHS Chef 2021
The NHS Chef 2021 Competition regional heats have now concluded, with some fantastic skills on show from the regional finalists. The national final will take place between October 25 and November 5 at The Cooking School in Warminster. Watch out for further details on this in the near future.
Ahead of the national final, the winners of the regional heats took part in a mentoring event from September 28 to 30. This allowed finalists to network, attend practical sessions to help develop their entries for the finals and to work with their mentors.
We are extremely grateful to all those who have applied to take part and to their estates and facilities teams for supporting them.
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (Phase 3)
Phase 3 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) was announced on September 8, 2021. For Phase 3 the focus remains on the decarbonisation of heat with funding provided for decarbonisation projects where the heating systems are at the end of their working lives.
The application process will open from 2pm on October 6, 2021. However, funding will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. Key points and dates to be aware of are:
• Application forms are now available
• Projects should incur costs no earlier than April 1, 2022 and no later than:
• March 31, 2023 for single year projects
• March 31, 2024 for two-year projects
• March 31, 2025 for three-year projects.
Criteria
This remains similar to Phase 2 of the PSDS phase, namely:
• A whole building approach
• Focus on heat decarbonisation and equipment nearing end of life
• Applicants should be ready to contribute to the cost of replacing equipment like-for-like on top of grant funding
• Carbon cost threshold £325/tCO2e.
It should be noted that a multi-year settlement is now available. There is no cap on funding in terms of the value of the grant which an Applicant can apply for. It should also be noted that Salix has not announced the amount of grant funding which it is making available. Salix has scheduled a number of webinars about the scheme with the remaining one taking place on October 7 at 2pm. Please see the Salix website for more details.
National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness – rescheduled national webinar
The remaining scheduled webinar; ‘Living and Breathing the National Standards in the NHS’, will now take place on October 20 at 10am. Invitations have already been issued. However, if you would like to attend you can still register directly via the link in the key events section of the Collaboration Hub.
Recordings of the recent webinars on: Audit; Implementation and governance; and Risk categories and blended areas are available via the Collaboration Hub.
North West Employer Webinar: Grow Your Own Workforce through Apprenticeships
Health Education England is holding a webinar in the North West on October 15 (10:30am – 12:30pm). This webinar is suitable for anyone working in or responsible for apprenticeships and apprentice recruitment, workforce planning and development, organisational development, learning and development and human resources.
Please use this link to book a place at the webinar and hold the date in your diary. The meeting link will be sent on October 14, 2021. Please see the NHS Collaboration Hub for further details.
The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare: The NHS Forest - Tree Offer
The NHS Forest, run by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, is a good practice network for NHS sites looking to develop their green spaces for environmental care and human wellbeing. The network of over 200 sites across the UK has already planted over 77,000 trees. NHS Trusts/sites can contact the NHS Forest for free native British broadleaf saplings to plant on their land in the next tree planting season, starting in November 2021.
Sites can request between 10 and 1,000 trees. The NHS Forest can also provide assistance and guidance with the whole process from species selection, planting protocol, and any press releases or volunteer events. For more information please contact Miriam, the NHS Forest co-ordinator ([email protected]) or to find out more about its work and to join the network please go to: https://www.nhsforest.org
NHS Estates and Facilities Team - Monthly Bulletin
We are pleased to announce the launch of a new monthly Estates and Facilities newsletter. Get the latest updates directly from NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Estates and Facilities Team including the latest guidance, health technical memoranda and policy developments affecting your work, and celebrate the successes of the wider E&F community. NHS staff can register to receive future editions of the newsletter.
NHS England and NHS Improvement National Estates Team: Collaboration Hub
The Collaboration Hub is a protected space for local NHS estates and facilities teams to access key information as well as to collaborate and to share ideas and successes. Access to the Collaboration Hub for individuals from local NHS estates teams can be arranged by e-mailing: [email protected]
We have been arranging “overview and masterclasses” to help registered members understand and navigate the Hub more effectively. These have taken place on an ad hoc basis to date. However, following the very positive feedback we are now looking to formalise these on a more regular basis. If you are interested in attending one of these sessions (they last approximately 30 minutes) then please e-mail the above mailbox and Joy Heaps and Stuart Robinson will follow up directly.
Could we also request that if you have not logged onto the Hub recently then you do so as soon as possible. As part of our governance procedures we are currently undertaking an exercise to review those members who according to our records have not accessed the Hub during the past 12 months. We are contacting those members and it is possible that membership will be withdrawn if there is no response to the e-mails which have been sent (by Stuart Robinson). In addition, if your e-mail address has changed over the past year (perhaps to .nhs.net), or you have moved to another NHS trust then please e-mail us with the details ([email protected]) so that we can update our records.
Thank You
Our thanks to all of those working in estates and facilities for all that you do in maintaining the NHS estate, facilitating patient care as well as supporting the ongoing response to COVID-19.
Please continue to stay safe and access the support material available on the Collaboration Hub. The service could not function without you.
