NHS Estates and Facilities Management Weekly Update

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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.

 

Estates and Facilities Spotlight Day  

In October 2020, the NHS became the world’s first health service to commit to reaching net zero carbon. Thanks to the efforts of staff across the NHS, we’re already making progress towards this ambitious goal. Across the NHS, we are developing more sustainable ways to deliver care, reduce waste, electrify transport, improve nutrition, and save energy – among many other areas.

The Greener NHS Estates and Facilities Spotlight Day aimed to build support across the estates and facilities workforce for a Greener NHS, help staff discover the difference we’re making already – and encourage them to join in and act now for a Greener NHS. 

The Estates and Facilities Spotlight Day took place on November 22. The National NHS Estates and Facilities Team toured a number of sites to showcase the amazing work that has taken place since the launch of the Delivering a Net Zero NHS report last year. A presentation for all local teams to deliver at a time that suits them has been provided. This introduces the new Estates Net Zero Carbon Delivery Plan, setting out how estates and facilities staff can support our journey to net zero. 

Please use this link for more information including details of how to get involved.

The Estates Net Zero Carbon Delivery Plan can be accessed from the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub (as well as the presentation mentioned above). 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.

 

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 was launched on November 22 and will run until December 17. The survey is for managers with responsibility for food safety in NHS hospital Trusts. 

The survey can be accessed here

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. 

We are grateful to estates and facilities teams for your help and support with this.

 

Waste Management Standard Operating Procedure - Update

The Waste Management SOP has been updated recently and has been published on the NHS England and NHS Improvement website. It can be accessed here

 

Performance of healthcare cryogenic liquid oxygen systems

Our document, 'Performance of healthcare cryogenic liquid oxygen systems', has now been formally published by NHS England and NHS Improvement. It replaces the version previously shared on the Collaboration Hub in June 2021. The document outlines the optimum supply and distribution systems to mitigate the effects of high oxygen flows, particularly during pandemic conditions. The document can be accessed from this link.

 

The NHS Ambassador Programme needs you!

The NHS Ambassador programme encourages NHS staff to volunteer just one hour per year to help inspire young people to pursue a career in healthcare. It aims to show young people the diverse range of roles within the NHS and help them to make informed decisions about their future employment. 

The programme is accessed by over 80% of secondary schools nationwide and has helped over 400,000 young people so far.

The NHS Ambassador programme needs more ambassadors from across NHS Estates & Facilities roles – from apprentice to director - to be part of this programme.

As a volunteer, you’ll be asked to commit as little as one hour per year to talk about your job and career journey. 

Watch this short video ‘Welcome to Inspiring the Future’ to find out how you can make a difference. Signing up is easy and can be done here in a few short clicks!

Can you help us inspire the next generation of the estates and facilities workforce? 

 

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 6-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].

 

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.

 

ESI Group Webinar: Air Cleaning Technology (ACT): Minimising the risk of SARS Cov-2 airborne transmission in Healthcare settings

The ESI Group has scheduled the above webinar which will take place on Friday, December 3, 2021 (9:30-10:30am). 

Germicidal UV devices are proven to be effective in killing/deactivating bacteria/viruses. This short webinar gives some insights into why air cleaning, device maintenance and effective placement for the best air circulation and AGP clearance can help to minimise transmission risk. 

The webinar will cover the following areas; 

• Overview (Professor Tony Fisher) - 10mins

• Recent publications (Professor Paul White) - 10mins

• Active projects (Frank Mills) - 10mins

• Parametric modelling demo (Fred Mendonca) - 15mins

• Q&A.

You can register directly for the webinar using this link.

 

Dates for National Estates and Facilities Team Webinars

Please note the dates for the national webinars which have been scheduled as follows:

• December 16 - 2020/21 ERIC

• January 27 - NHS Estates Facilities: Resilience

• February 24 - NHS Estates Strategies (TBC).

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].

The recording and slides from the Instructing a Valuation and the NHS Ambassador Programme webinar on November 25 are available from the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub.

 

NHS Estates and Facilities Team - Monthly Bulletin

The next edition of the monthly Estates and Facilities Bulletin is expected to be issued on December 3. This will provide 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 do you 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. 



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