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.
2020/21 ERIC
The deadline for submission of the 2020/21 ERIC returns is July 1, 2021. Reminders have already been sent via NHS Digital ahead of the deadline. In the meantime, if there are any E&F teams which have concerns or queries regarding the submission of the data for their organisation then please contact: [email protected] as soon as possible.
Hospital Car Parking: Data Collection
Thanks to those estates and facilities teams which have returned the spreadsheets for their respective organisations. We are continuing to review those returns and will get back in touch in case of any further queries. We are still interested in seeing the returns from those NHS Trusts which have not yet provided this information and would appreciate this as soon as possible. The remaining spreadsheets should be sent to: [email protected].
This information is extremely important to us as it will help to provide assurance around delivery of the Government’s commitment to making hospital car parking free for the four key groups covered by this commitment.
The letters from Simon Corben to acute and mental health Trusts along with the associated spreadsheets are still available via the Collaboration Hub. However, further copies can also be requested by e-mailing: [email protected] and marking for the attention of Gill Donachie.
Those responsible for hospital car parking in estates and facilities teams will wish to assure themselves that the spreadsheet for their organisation has been returned, or that action is in hand to complete it. Please note that this request only relates to acute and mental health Trusts.
NHS England and NHS Improvement Website: Dedicated Estates and Facilities Page
There is now a dedicated page on the NHS England and NHS Improvement website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/estates
HTM 03-01 - Specialised ventilation for healthcare buildings has now been updated and published. This is now available on the website and can also be found directly via: NHS England » (HTM 03-01) Specialised ventilation for healthcare buildings
National Standards of Healthcare Cleanliness
National webinars took place recently which covered the areas of:
• Audit
• Implementation and governance
• Risk categories and blended areas.
The recordings from these webinars are available from the Collaboration Hub. They can be found in the Latest News and Soft FM areas.
The next scheduled webinar in this series takes place on August 17 at 12noon. 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.
If you have any questions and feedback on the new guidance then please e-mail: [email protected] and mark for the attention of Emma Brookes.
NHS Premises Assurance Model (PAM)
As set out in the NHS Standard Contract (Service Conditions 17.9) completion of the NHS PAM is required by all NHS Trusts annually. Previously this has been provided as a spreadsheet: https://www.england.nhs.uk/nhs-premises-assurance-model/
The NHS PAM data for 2020-21 needs to be completed and submitted by July 23, 2021. A number of national webinars took place recently. The slides and recordings from these sessions are available now from the Collaboration Hub and might be of use to E&F teams in completing the returns for their organisations. Please see the Latest News and Assurance/PAM areas.
It would be appreciated if E&F teams could assure themselves now that action is in hand to complete the data for their organisations by 23 July. If there are expected to be any difficulties in meeting this deadline then please e-mail: [email protected] as soon as possible with the details, marking for the urgent attention of Michael Bellas.
Supporting staff to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme
Directors of Estates and Facilities and their teams will wish to be aware of the key message concerning the EU Settlement Scheme which was issued via the NHS England and NHS Improvement Leaders Bulletin on May 21, 2021.
“The NHS has always benefited from committed, and talented health staff both trained here in Britain and those who have chosen to work here from abroad. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens form an integral and vital part of the health and care family, and your skills and compassionate care directly benefit patients, families and communities.
There is now less a week to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme, which is open to all EU, EEA and Swiss citizens in the UK until June 30, 2021. The Settlement Scheme will allow EU, EEA and Swiss citizens to continue to live and work in the UK beyond June 2021, meaning they will not need to apply for visas when the new immigration system takes effect. The scheme will also lock in the rights of EU, EEA and Swiss citizens, meaning they will be able to access healthcare, benefits and other government services in the same way they currently do, further details on what people will get from the scheme are available here.
It is important to remember that an application must be made for every eligible child within a family. Parents should check if they need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme for their children, even if they have already applied and been granted a status themselves.
If an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen and their family members have lived in the UK for many years or have a permanent residence document or EEA Biometric Residence Card (BRC), they still need to apply to the EUSS (or apply for British citizenship) by June 30, 2021 to continue to live and work in the UK.
For further support, see NHS Employers’ recent toolkit ‘Preparing for the EU Settlement Scheme application deadline’. You can also find the Home Office ‘EU Settlement scheme: introduction for employers’ toolkit here.”
NHS Estates and Facilities: Workforce/Apprenticeships Event
Fiona Daly, National Sustainability and Workforce Lead is hosting this apprenticeship employer engagement webinar on July 12, 2021 from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Use this link to register your interest and book a place at this event. This event is open to all so this invitation can be shared as widely as possible. Even if you are unable to attend, you will still be contacted so that you can contribute to the estates and facilities skills needs assessment which will follow this event.
NHS Digital Weight Management Programme for NHS Staff
Colleagues working in the NHS are now able to sign up to the NHS Digital Weight Management Programme. This is a brand new service for staff working in the NHS who would like to lose weight and improve their health and wellbeing.
Those staff who have a BMI of 30 or greater (or 27.5 or greater for staff from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic groups), can now access a free, online 12-week weight management programme which is personally tailored to support their journey to a healthier lifestyle.
Helping NHS staff to eat healthily and be active is part of a wider commitment to improve the health and wellbeing of our most important resource. Keeping healthy and active can be hard, especially with the demands of a busy job, but this digital programme can help staff make those small changes, one step at a time. Staff who are interested can find out more information and self register on our website.
This has been developed by the NHS England and Improvement Medical Director’s Office Prevention Team. Alongside all staff groups in the NHS, we are also keen to engage as much as possible with estates and facilities staff.
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.
