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.
Net Zero Carbon Estates Delivery Report
As COP26 concludes we should take pride in the NHS being the world’s first health system to commit to reaching net zero by 2045, supporting improvements in health now and for future generations.
With emissions relating to the estates and facilities services accounting for over 60% of the NHS’s direct emissions and a significant proportion of indirect emissions, decarbonising estates and facilities services is an important step towards achieving net zero in the NHS.
NHS estates and facilities teams have an opportunity to lead the way on net zero and will need to take significant and immediate action to ensure the NHS achieves its carbon reduction targets.
This delivery plan consolidates existing policy around reducing carbon emissions on the NHS estate and makes recommendations to help Trusts to deliver their Green Plans and the Greener NHS targets. It is aimed at NHS estates and facilities staff, leadership and management teams as well as sustainability and energy professionals.
It links closely with the complementary Green Plan Guidance and will support Trusts and Integrated Care Systems to develop their green plans and estates strategies. The plan sets out a clear, sequential four step investment approach to decarbonising NHS sites:
1. Investing in energy saving measures
2. Preparing buildings for electric-led heating
3. Investing in innovative new energy sources
4. Increasing on-site renewables.
In total, there are 11 strategic actions to provide a clear framework for delivering net zero estates, including actions to tackle climate change in other areas.
The delivery plan is now available again via the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub. In addition, the recording of the national webinar and supporting slides can also be found on the Hub.
For those non-NHS colleagues who are unable to be registered for the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub we have arranged access separately via an MS Teams site. Please contact: [email protected] marking for the attention of Alex Gambi if you require further information on access through this route.
NHS Chef 2021
Congratulations to Sanish Thomas & Sinto Mulavarickal from the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust who were announced as the winners of NHS Chef 2021. Following hotly contested regional heats and a national final competing against six other teams of chefs, Sinto and Sanish were awarded the accolade by judges including Prue Leith, advisor to the NHS Food Review, and Phil Shelley, its chair.
Their final menu comprised vegetable samosa with tamarind chutney; roulade of seabass with bouillabaisse; stuffed duck breast with duchess potatoes, braised red cabbage and orange sauce; and their take on the classic sticky toffee pudding.
Chefs from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn came second, and the team from Royal Devon and Exeter came in third place. Congratulations to all the chefs who reached the finals as well as their wider estates and facilities teams in supporting them on their journey.
NHS Supply Chain – Chef’s Academies
NHS Supply Chain’s free, day-long Chef’s Academies provide NHS chefs with invaluable hands-on training from their experienced team of chefs and dieticians. The sessions are designed to inspire innovation and professional development amongst NHS chefs and catering staff. For more information or to register for the few remaining spaces at the next event (November 23 at West Herts College, Watford Campus, WD17 3EZ) visit the NHS Supply Chain website. Further dates and venues will be announced in 2022.
National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness
A number of new documents have been shared on the Collaboration Hub which support the new cleaning standards which were published earlier this year. These include: the star ratings in word format, a pictorial copy of responsibilities associated with cleaning schedules and frequencies as well as a more user-friendly format of the efficacy audit for those without a digital provider.
Contract Management Capability Programme
Free online training courses are available in contract management and commercial training to upskill staff working in this area. The foundation level in contract management takes around 12 hours to complete, while Senior Responsible Officer training is offered via hosted online training sessions. NHS and Foundation Trusts with Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts or other large/complex contracts within their estate are encouraged to put forward team members who are involved in management or monitoring. This can be booked via the Government Commercial College website. Further details are available on the NHS Collaboration Hub.
The Kickstart Scheme
Employers have until December 17, 2021 to apply for funding from the Kickstart Scheme. This is a government scheme that aims to create new six-month job placements for young people, aged 16 – 24 (including graduates) on Universal Credit, who are at risk of long-term unemployment. This is a great way to bring new talent into estates and facilities roles whilst creating new jobs for your area. Find out more from the Gov.uk website or get in touch with: [email protected].
SRCL Addition (COVID-19) Waste Management Costs
The NHS Estates and Facilities Team at NHS England and NHS Improvement shared some guidance previously in respect of the types of costs for which suppliers could seek to reclaim additional funding, including SRCL’s additional costs incurred as a result of increased COVID volumes to support the COVID-19 guidance issued.
Directors of Estates and Facilities have been contacted recently regarding additional waste management costs which SRCL incurred by having to procure additional capacity to treat the additional waste volumes. An FAQs document has recently been shared on the Collaboration Hub which might be useful to estates and facilities teams.
Please check the NHS Estates Collaboration for further details. Any concerns about this should be sent to: [email protected] marked for the attention of Jo Dolby and Steve Lawley.
FSA Listeriosis Guidance Survey
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is reviewing its guidance, Reducing the Risk of Vulnerable Groups Contracting Listeriosis (2016). To help the FSA develop a picture of the implementation of the guidance in NHS hospitals in England, they are requesting that managers with responsibility for food safety complete an online survey. This is expected to be launched on November 22 and will run until December 17. The survey is for managers with responsibility for food safety in NHS hospital Trusts.
This review follows the listeriosis outbreak in 2019 which led to seven deaths, the corresponding Public Health England outbreak report and the Independent Review of Hospital Food. Local Authority food safety teams and other health and social settings are also being surveyed.
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 manage difficult situations and help maintain your health and wellbeing. All coaching sessions are free and confidential - details will never be shared with employers. Use this link to book a session.
Dates for National Webinars
Please note the dates for the national webinars which have been scheduled as follows:
• November 25 - Valuations and “Instructing” Valuations
• December 16 - 2020/21 ERIC
• January 27 - NHS Estates Facilities: Resilience.
These will all take place at 11am. If you would like to attend any of these webinars then please contact: [email protected] or [email protected].
NHS Estates and Facilities Team – Monthly Bulletin
The second edition of the monthly Estates and Facilities newsletter was issued on November 8. This provides 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, as well as celebrating 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.
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.
LinkedIn: You can also see the latest updates from the NHS Estates and Facilities Team by following our LinkedIn page.
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.
