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.
NHS Chef 2021 – update
The regional heats are underway this week in the North East and Yorkshire (August 10) and North West (August 12) regions following some fantastic applications. Applications are still welcome for the regional heats in the East of England, London, Midlands and South East and South West regions. We have already received some great applications and encourage others to apply who might still be pondering.
Applications for these remaining regional heats need to be completed and e-mailed to: [email protected] by midday on 20 August 2021. Once you have applied, please keep the appropriate day/time free, to ensure that you can participate, as we are confirming the competitors as close to the regional heat as possible.
The idea for a new award that celebrates NHS chefs was put forward in the Independent Review of NHS Hospital Food published in October 2020. It was part of a range of recommendations to support and develop hospital chefs, to: make them feel a part of the wider catering sector; inspire and motivate them; and celebrate their successes and recognise excellence. NHS Chef 2021 will highlight the best of NHS catering, chefs' skills, catering knowledge and menu engineering.
The competition is split into three parts, with seven regional events taking place during August and September. The winners of which will move into a national final. A mentoring event will be held from September 28 – 30 at the MKN Office and Presentation Kitchen in Cannock. This will allow finalists to network, attend practical sessions to help develop their entries for the finals and to work with their mentors.
The dishes must be garnished in a way that is realistic within an NHS hospital setting and all hot meals will be placed in a serving trolley/hotplate for 10 minutes before being judged.
The winning team from each regional event will progress to the final, which will be held between October 25 and November 5 at The Cooking School in Warminster. The competition is only open to chefs/caterers who are paid directly through the NHS, or through its contracted catering providers, or suppliers who prepare meals for the NHS.
For the full terms and conditions and to apply for this exciting new event, please email: [email protected] with ‘NHS Chef 2021’ as the subject line.
If you are a professional chef or caterer who prepares food for NHS staff, visitors and patients, or you know colleagues who are then please encourage them to apply. This really is an exciting opportunity for all NHS chefs and caterers.
The NHS Great Food Programme: For Culinary and Kitchen Teams
This programme incorporates 12 months of work-based learning which is open to chefs of any age.
Chefs will take part in a mix of work-based learning and interactive workshops. Participants will explore subjects including: menu specification; portion control and budget constraints; as well as improving efficiency and reducing food waste.
The programme will be further enriched with sessions based around nutrition and dietetics, food safety, kitchen operations and culinary innovation.
Anyone wishing to register their early interest should e-mail: [email protected].
E-mail from Simon Corben to Directors of E&F
Spending Review/Investment in the NHS Estate
An e-mail was sent from Simon Corben to Directors of Estates and Facilities on August 6 with a request for their urgent help in support of the development of the case for investment in the estate through the forthcoming Spending Review. Part of the submission includes the link between backlog maintenance and the commensurate reduction in carbon omissions. The e-mail from Simon included a template for completion by August 13. Please see the Collaboration Hub (latest news) for further details.
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services
The Non-Emergency Patient Transport Review was published recently by NHS England and NHS Improvement. This follows work by the national NHS Estates and Facilities Team, working in partnership with the national strategy team and a number of critical stakeholders to complete the analysis of the current service and provide recommendations for the service going forward. We encourage everyone to read the review report which can be accessed here.
Procure23 Framework launches to the Market and P22 extension Ccnfirmed
The ProCure23 Prior Information Notice (PIN) was recently launched to market, with formal procurement to follow.
ProCure23 (P23), formerly known as P2020, enables NHS clients to access experienced and proficient partners to support across all aspects of NHS capital project delivery. P23 builds on the successes of three previous iterations of the ProCure framework that have delivered over £10 billion of projects for the NHS. The framework has been updated to better reflect the changing needs of the NHS, to prioritise pandemic recovery and acknowledge the other infrastructure and ongoing capital projects.
From business case development/approval, sustainability, design and construction to disruption mitigation, benefit realisation and optimised occupation, the updated framework will provide more flexibility for contractors and bring the latest best practice in construction methods, modern methods of construction and digital infrastructure to the NHS.
With climate change at the forefront of the global discussion, P23 focuses on delivering greener facilities, reducing carbon emissions throughout the process and promoting social value. Through updates on the NHS Futures Collaboration Hub, our LinkedIn page and the upcoming Estates and Facilities monthly newsletter, the team will endeavour to provide updates and developments on the framework and its progress.
For the first time as part of the ProCure structure, the lower value lot (<£20m) will be split into the seven NHS England and NHS Improvement geographical regions. This is intended to open the framework to suitable regional and medium-sized contractors, enhance capacity and increase local backing for projects.
There are three lots available, including the addition of regional lots for the first time:
• Lot 1: Regional lots (new) - £0m-£19.99m
• Lot 2: National lot - £20m-£69.99m
• Lot 3: National lot - £70m+
In addition to the benefits to the NHS, P23 offers a multitude of benefits to suppliers and contractors. P23 represents industry best practice and as with previous frameworks, there is a commitment to partnerships, establishing long-term relationships which benefit our NHS and the contractors involved. Collaborative working and integrated supply chains are at the heart of P23.
An invitation to tender will be published in the near future and we will also be communicating further for offers of support with the evaluation process.
Extension of P22 framework
NHS England and NHS Improvement has also confirmed that the existing ProCure22 (P22) framework will be extended until 30 June 2022. This is to enable continuity of design and construction services via P22 for the NHS until its successor framework, ProCure23 (P23), becomes available for use by NHS clients.
Improving Digital Skills: Opportunity for all NHS staff including Estates and Facilities
Health Education England’s Talent for Care team is funding access to award-winning software to improve digital skills (and numeracy and literacy too if desired). The software is called Basic Key Skills Builder (bksb) and can be accessed anytime, from any device. This is not an online course, but a scheme of self-study that fits around the learners’ commitments. Once registered and set-up, the learner takes a diagnostic self-assessment (roughly 30 questions) to establish their current level of skill. The results of this establish an Individual Learning Plan for that person. They are then free to follow that plan at their own pace.
Further details
All health and social care employers are entitled to this offer. Your employer may already be signed up and be utilising this support for staff. Whether they are or not, all managers are entitled to a 30-minute consultation meeting/call with bksb, which we strongly encourage you to utilise. In this meeting your bksb representative will discuss your specific needs and will work with you to tailor a support package to meet them. S/he will take you through the following:
• The simple sign-up process
• The initial and diagnostic assessments, which form the individual learning plans
• How to check learners’ progress and run reports for cohorts of learners
• Dyslexia and dyscalculia indicators and more.
Next Steps
All you need to do is e-mail: [email protected] requesting your HEE funded consultation. A member of the team will then e-mail you back to arrange a suitable time.
This offer is part of Talent for Care’s Skills for Life portfolio. You can also e-mail the programme lead: [email protected] for any further advice or information.
National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness
The next scheduled webinar in this series takes place on August 17 at 12 noon. The focus of this session is ‘Living and Breathing the National Standards in the NHS’. 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.
PLACE
In 2020 a decision was taken to suspend the full PLACE programme due to the operational difficulties and associated risks brought about by COVID-19. PLACE-Lite remained open for healthcare organisations to undertake assessments if they chose to do so. It was great to hear that a number of organisations did run PLACE-Lite and used the results to continue making improvements to the environment for the benefit of patients.
We had hoped to reinstate the full PLACE programme this year. However, in light of the continuing uncertainties that remain with COVID-19 we recognise that to do so could be extremely challenging. We have taken the difficult decision to suspend the full programme for a second year and to encourage the use of PLACE Lite instead. In order to provide as much support as possible we will be producing a standalone PLACE-Lite guidance document and encouraging take up of PLACE-Lite through additional communications and engagement in the coming weeks and months. It is our expectation that all documents and any necessary system updates will be complete and ready for use in September. We do not anticipate a great deal of change to the current assessment forms, but we will confirm any changes that are made.
It is recommended to conduct assessments in line with PLACE processes as far as possible, and current guidance is available on this following collection page.
Please watch out for further details on the dedicated PLACE-lite guidance when it becomes available in the next few weeks.
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
Please follow the national NHS Estates and Infrastructure team on twitter @EstatesNHS
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 “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 a masterclass (these 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.
