National E&F Team Survey
The survey has now closed. There has been a good response to it and we would like to thank those colleagues who responded to this request. We will now begin the analysis and will provide feedback on the results and agreed action plan at the earliest opportunity.
NHS Clinical Waste Strategy
The NHS clinical waste strategy sets out NHS England’s ambition to transform the management of clinical waste by eliminating unnecessary waste, finding innovative ways to reuse, and ensure waste is processed in the most cost effective, efficient, and sustainable way.
HTM 07-01: Safe and Sustainable Management of Healthcare Waste
The updated Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 07-01: Safe and Sustainable Management of Healthcare Waste provides technical guidance and best practice for the safe management of healthcare waste. This update reflects changes to environmental legislation and regulation, and innovation within the sector. It considers the principles of circular economy, environmental safeguarding, improved social outcomes, and the net zero targets of the NHS.
Waste Carbon Reduction Tool
The Waste Carbon Reduction Tool supports Trusts with their waste management decisions, improves waste segregation, and helps to reduce waste related carbon emissions.
PLACE 2022 data
The data from the Patient-Led Assessment of the Care Environment 2022 was published on March 23, 2023. PLACE assessments are an annual appraisal of the non-clinical aspects of NHS and independent/private healthcare settings, undertaken by teams made up of staff and members of the public.
Capital Investment and Property Business Case Approval Guidance
The NHS England Capital Investment and Property Business Case Approval Guidance for NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts was published on February 13, 2023. This has already been shared with Directors of Finance and Chief Finance Officers at provider Trusts.
This is a refresh of the guidance previously published in 2016 and is available from the NHS England website at NHS England » Capital investment and property business case approval guidance for NHS trusts and foundation trusts.
The NHS Business Case Reporting Index for all new Outline Business Case submissions
In recognition of the changes to the construction market since the previous business case reporting index was last set in 2019, it has been agreed that the business case reporting index will be amended.
From April 2023 all NHS Trusts and Trust Cost Advisors and business case authors should use 2Q2022 index 285. The index will be reviewed and updated annually.
Celebrating the first year of ProCure23
We are proud to be celebrating a year of ProCure23, the fourth generation of the ProCure framework. In partnership with Crown Commercial Service, we are making it easier to increase capacity in the NHS through new builds, address backlog maintenance, and reconfigure spaces to better meet the health and care needs of our local communities.
In the first year of the framework, we have seen a committed procurement value of £1.46bn with a total potential pipeline of £1.77bn. Other successes include the development of repeatable room designs and a catalogue of standard components which are readily available to save significant project time and cost for the NHS.
Read more about the successes over the past year and the aims for the next 12 months.
Grant funding available for heat decarbonising plans - applications open on April 26, 2023
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has announced that up to £17 million of funding has been made available for Phase 4 of the Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF).
The LCSF provides grants for public sector organisations, including NHS Trusts, to engage the specialist advice and skills required to create a robust heat decarbonisation plan and/or detailed designs which will prepare for heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency works.
The Application Portal for Phase 4 LCSF will open on Wednesday April 26, 2023 at 2pm. It is a first come, first served system, meaning applications must be prepared in advance and be ready to submit immediately when the portal opens, in order to secure funding. For further information, including detailed guidance notes, please visit the Salix website or e-mail: [email protected].
Free tree bundles available for NHS sites
NHS Trusts published their Green Plans a year ago. As many Trusts have tree planting within their plans, the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (NHS Forest) is providing free tree bundles to NHS sites for planting from November 2023.
Bundles will be provided on a first come, first served basis. Find out more and express your interest in requesting NHS Forest trees here: https://nhsforest.org/green-your-site/tree-planting.
The future of hospital food
Phil Shelley was on BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme recently, speaking about the new National Standards for Healthcare Food and Drink, and the role of clinicians in delivering them. The programme also features apetito UK and Cambridge University Hospitals Foundation Trust talking about how they are raising the standards of hospital food. If you missed it, the episode is available on BBC Sounds.
Pre-election guidance for NHS organisations
Local elections are scheduled to take place on May 4, 2023. The pre-election period is the time immediately before elections and places specific restrictions on the use of public resources. For local organisations, this applied from March 27.
National organisations, including NHS England, are subject to the pre-election period from April 13, 2023. Communications activities necessary for operational delivery purposes will continue as normal. Further guidance is available on the NHS England website.
NHS Parliamentary Awards 2023 - now open
NHS Parliamentary Awards are designed to celebrate the work of all NHS staff and those who work alongside them. Nominees could be an individual, a team, or an entire organisation. Nominees don’t have to be working within the NHS. Nominees do not have to be in frontline or clinical roles. This information pack supports organisations to ask an MP to submit a nomination. Nominations close on April 24, 2023.
Volunteer as an NHS Ambassador
To help mark the NHS’s 75th anniversary in 2023, NHS England has teamed up with Inspiring the Future to increase the number of NHS Ambassadors to inspire children and young people to consider a career in the NHS. We are looking for NHS staff, from all levels and professions to register and commit to a minimum of one hour per year to go into schools and colleges - in person or virtually - and talk about their job and the educational route they took to get there. Find out more and sign up to become an NHS Ambassador.
Help Inspire the Future by taking part in a TeenTech Festival
NHS England and TeenTech are working together to celebrate the NHS’s 75th birthday with events across the country throughout the year, starting in London on April 25. TeenTech Festivals are highly interactive and designed to inspire young teenagers and their teachers about the contemporary industries shaping their future.
We are looking for volunteers from within the NHS to help highlight careers and pathways which students and their teachers may not realise exist. This may involve running an interactive stand or activity throughout the day, but TeenTech is very happy to offer suggestions and provide examples of ways to capture the imagination of young people. If you’d like to be involved, find out more by contacting: [email protected].
The Prince’s Trust needs you
The Prince’s Trust is the UK’s leading youth charity, offering a range of programmes with the aim of supporting young people into work. Since 2020, they have been working to enable young people in England to move into careers in the health and social care sectors, with over 8,700 young people taking part in the programme to help them secure and sustain employment.
They are actively seeking employer partners to join a number of events planned over the coming months. If you have vacancies coming up and are interested in getting involved, please contact: [email protected].
Pension seminar and changes to the NHS Pension Scheme
On April 1, 2023 changes were introduced to the NHS Pension Scheme (NHSPS).
These will give staff in the 1995 Section of the NHSPS the same flexibilities as other members of the Scheme, making it possible to draw their 1995 pension while continuing to work in the same role and build more pension in the 2015 Scheme.
This offers new opportunities for employers to retain the skills of late career staff, supporting the NHS to recover core services, and for staff to manage how and when they retire. NHS Employers are preparing resources to help employers navigate these changes.
From March 17, 2023, NHS England and Isio have also been running a series of pension seminars for staff over 55 that explain the basics about the NHSPS, what these changes mean for flexible working, and where to find more information. Book your space now.
If you have any questions, please email: [email protected].
Apprenticeship Service Webinars
The Apprenticeship Service run free webinars for employers, training providers, intermediaries & EPAOs. The webinars are hosted by subject matter experts and aim to help service users understand more about the apprenticeship service and apprenticeships. The latest series of webinars includes key information on advertising apprenticeship vacancies on the Apprenticeship Service. Click HERE to find out more. Limited places available so book now to secure your spot.
Join the National Estates and Facilities Workforce Engagement Forum (WEF)
The WEF meets on a quarterly basis. The next meetings are scheduled for:
• June 8, 2023
• September 7, 2023
• December 7, 2023
• March 7, 2024.
All of these meetings start at 1pm. E-mail: [email protected] to be added to the meeting invitation list.
National Webinars
Please note the following dates in your diaries:
• April 13 - Apprenticeship Challenge (One Year On)
• April 27 - Public Switched Telephone Network: Service Closure.
These sessions are run by members of the national Estates and Facilities team. The webinar links and joining instructions will be sent to all listed E&F contacts around two weeks prior to each event. NHS staff who are not on our contacts list and would like to attend these sessions should e-mail: [email protected] marking for the attention of Tom McHugh and John Showalter to request an invitation. These sessions will take place from 11am until 12:30pm.
The recordings from the national webinars which have taken place to date are all available from the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub. The includes the most recent webinars on the 2021/22 ERIC and the Waste Management Strategy. We hope to confirm the rescheduled date for the Hospital Helipad Landing Sites webinar in the very near future.
NHS ConfedExpo
Registration for NHS ConfedExpo 2023 is open. Tickets are free for NHS, local authority and wider public sector staff. The event, hosted by NHS Confederation and NHS England, will bring together health and care leaders and their teams at one of the biggest and most significant health and care conferences. It’s aimed at NHS providers, ICBs, primary care providers, local government, social care commissioners and providers, and voluntary, community and third sector organisations.
NHS Estates and Facilities contact e-mail addresses
The e-mail addresses for both the National Estates and Facilities Team and the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub are:
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
NHS Estates and Facilities - Monthly Bulletin
The last Bulletin was issued on February 28. The bulletin provides updates directly from NHS England’s NHS 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 use the following link to register to receive future editions of the Bulletin; NHS England » Estates and facilities bulletin.
NHS Estates 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. If you are interested in attending one of these sessions then please e-mail the above mailbox.
If your e-mail address has changed (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 follow our latest news and updates on the NHS Estates and Facilities LinkedIn page.
