National E&F Team Survey
On February 28 Directors of Estates and their deputies were sent a survey via e-mail asking for feedback on areas where the national team is working effectively, as well as where we can improve. The survey is now live and will remain open until March 31. We would like to encourage all E&F colleagues to take part in the survey via their Directors of E&F. We would also like to thank those who took part in our recent survey on national priorities.
Net Zero Building Standard
The NHS has published its first Net Zero Building Standard. This technical guidance supports the development of sustainable, resilient, and energy efficient buildings that meet the needs of patients now and in the future. The Standard will apply to all investments in new buildings and upgrades to existing facilities that are subject to HM Treasury business case approval process and are at pre-strategic outline business case approval stage from October 1, 2023 onwards. Application of the Standard will ensure consistency, standardisation, and equity across the NHS estate, and result in reduced carbon emissions and incremental improvements in the NHS building stock over time.
Guidance for the Management of Gas and Air in Healthcare Settings in England for Minimising Time Weighted Exposure to Nitrous Oxide (N20)
NHS England has issued urgent guidance on the mitigations that NHS Trusts should consider to protect staff by limiting their occupational exposure to nitrous oxide (N2O) and the recommended governance arrangements for board assurance of occupational exposure to N2O. The guidance includes a clear message on removing gas and air provision as a last resort. The guidance can be accessed here.
The guidance also refers to some case studies and standard operating procedures provided by the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust and Princess Alexandra Hospital Trust. We would like to thank those Trusts for sharing these details. These documents are available from the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub.
Any queries on this guidance should be e-mailed to: [email protected] marked for the attention of Andy Summerbell and Mike Ralph.
New Safety Alert System
From February 20, 2023, the National E&F Team has been fully accredited to issue National Patient Safety Alerts for estates and facilities. The key issue is that these alerts can only be issued where it is “more likely than not one or more potentially avoidable deaths or disability will occur in healthcare in England in a year.” Other approaches will be used to notify the NHS where this criterion is not met.
By using the National Patient Safety Alerts, we will ensure that any issues we identify will be part of the nationally managed alert process and action will be taken by NHS Trusts where required. Please see the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub for further details.
National Standards for Hospital Food – Food Safety
An update on the National Standards for Hospital Food, and in particular food safety and the associated responsibilities in this area was shared recently with Directors of E&F as well as on the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub. Directors are asked to review this information and to bring it to the attention of their catering managers.
Any queries regarding this update should be e-mailed to: [email protected] marked for the attention of Emma Brookes and Phil Shelley.
National Portering and Cleaning Awards
The 2023 National Portering and Cleaning Awards were announced at a ceremony in London on February 22 and 23. Several members of the national estates and facilities team were on the judging panel and were impressed with the high calibre of entries. Read more about the MyPorter Awards and the MyCleaning Awards winners. (Full report will also be published in the March/April issue of HEFMA Pulse Magazine).
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 here.
Clinical Waste Strategy and HTM 07-01: Launch Event
The new NHS Clinical Waste Strategy and the updated HTM 07-01 will be launched at an event on March 8. Invitations to the event have been issued. Watch out for an update and an outline of both documents in the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub in due course. (Also see our feature in the March/April issue of HEFMA Pulse Magazine).
PLACE
The publication of the PLACE data, which was due to take place on February 28, has been postponed until March 30. You will be able to access the data on the NHS Digital website.
Celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) – March 8 (1am until 12noon)
All are welcome at the NHS Confederation’s Health and Social Care Women Leaders Network for the IWD 2023 celebration on Zoom. Hear from NHS Chief Exec Amanda Pritchard, Director Health Inequalities, Dr Bola Owolabi and many more about some of the great work to progress gender equality.
Catering Consumables Drop-in Session
You are invited to join the Catering consumables drop-in session on March 9 @ 2.00-3.15 pm during Food Waste Action Week to hear about how to reduce single-use plastics, and switch to reusables for catering consumables in your Trust. The team will be covering the recently launched How to Guide for Catering Consumables and how the Government ban on single-use plastics from October 2023 will impact catering plastics. NHS Supply Chain will be joining to showcase their proposed alternative products to single-use plastics. If you would like to be sent an invite for the drop-in session or have any other questions, please contact: [email protected].
Be Part of our Food Waste Reduction Pilot
Ahead of Food Waste Action Week on March 6, we have been working with a number of NHS Trusts to pilot ways of monitoring and measuring food waste. There is significant opportunity to deliver reductions in both waste and cost, and effect change for the benefit of patients.
If you are a Trust that is looking to make these changes, in line with the mandatory food standards, please join wave 2 of our pilot. Join our meeting on Monday, March 13 at 2.00pm to find out more. To register your interest please e-mail: [email protected] marked for the attention of Phil Shelley and Louise Hatwell.
NHS Charities Together – NHS75 Event
NHS Charities Together is hosting a live-streamed event to honour 75 years of service from health and care staff on Friday, March 10, 2023, the third anniversary of the World Health Organisation declaring a pandemic. The service will remember those staff who lost their lives during COVID-19 and honour the contribution of health and care staff in the 75th year of the NHS. Details to join will be available at: www.nhscharitiestogether.co.uk.
NHS Armed Forces Conference – Virtual Event: 15 March (9:30am – 4:15pm)
Attend this annual virtual conference to understand the benefits of recruiting and retaining members of the Armed Forces community within your workforce and how NHS Employers can support you to do so. Please see event link for information.
Looking After You Too: Coaching for Colleagues from Ethnic Minority Backgrounds
A confidential 1:1 support which helps unlock personal and professional potential whilst supporting wellbeing is now available. No details are shared with employers and the coaches are external to the NHS. Further details are available here.
Supporting Staff with the Cost of Living
NHS Employers has developed a cost-of-living hub which draws together resources and good practice from across the NHS. The four core areas covered are: Pay processes and practices; In-work progression; financial wellbeing and education; Flexible and agile working. For enquires contact: [email protected].
National Careers Week
National Careers Week is happening in the week commencing March 6. We are looking for young people in EFM to inspire other young people about their careers. This includes a live Instagram session on March 7 at 5.30pm with NHS Health Careers. Please pass on or get in touch if you want to be involved: [email protected].
National Webinars
Please note the following dates in your diaries:
• March 23 – Waste Management Strategy
• April 07 – 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 in due course. NHS staff who are not on our contacts list and would like to attend these sessions should e-mail: [email protected] marked 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 webinar on the 2021/22 ERIC from January 26.
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:
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 The next edition is expected to be issued in the week commencing March 27.
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.
You can also follow our latest news and updates on the NHS Estates and Facilities LinkedIn page.
