Message from Simon Corben
It has been a little while since my last update to you - I hope you had a pleasant summer and were able to get some well-deserved rest.
The chill in the air signals autumn is well and truly here, which means that winter and all its pressures are just around the corner. I know colleagues are already preparing for what this means, and I would like to express my thanks to those of you that have been assisting us in providing a national picture.
I was pleased to hear about the pay award for NHS staff, which means that our lowest paid staff have seen their pay increase by up to 9.3% from September. This is recognition of the critical work that these staff deliver across the NHS and which we hope will go some way to supporting our workforce during this difficult time.
It was great to be in Manchester recently for IHEEM’s Healthcare Estates Conference where various members of the national team and myself were present and able to meet a number of you there. I provided an update to the conference on our key priorities with other members of the team presenting on workforce development, capital delivery (including our ProCure23 framework), ICS Infrastructure Strategies and Sustainability.
Estates Return Information Collection (ERIC) 2021/22
The 2021/22 ERIC was published on October 13, 2022 and can be accessed at: ERIC 2021/22
We will be reviewing the data over the next few weeks ahead of uploading this to the Model Health System tool and will also be arranging a national webinar to share the key messages.
Our thanks to all estates and facilities teams for your support in submitting and validating he data.
National PLACE collection running until November 30
The first full PLACE collection since 2019 was launched recently. This will run from September 5 until November 30, 2022. We ran two national webinars in the summer which provided an overview of PLACE, useful information about the process including the timetable, and a demonstration of PLACE mobile. If you missed these, or want to watch again, recordings of the webinars can be viewed on the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub.
Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme - Phase 3b applications now open
The application window for Phase 3b of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme opened on October 12. This scheme from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Salix provides grants for public sector bodies (including NHS Trusts) to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures. It should be noted that applications will be assessed on a “first come, first served” basis. Due to the anticipated level of demand the application window is likely to remain open for a short period of time before all of the funding is expected to be fully allocated.
Reducing emissions from the NHS estate will be vital in achieving the NHS's commitment to reach net zero. The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme plays an important role in supporting this, with NHS Trusts recently securing £329m of funding through Phase 3a of the scheme.
This latest phase will result in allocations of up to £635m grant funding to public sector organisations, to be spent in financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, across single and multi-year projects. Full background details, including how to apply and the webinar recording etc are available on the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub.
Mandatory update to the Distribution Code - Confirmation of Compliance
Estates and facilities teams have been alerted previously regarding their responsibilities around the mandatory updates to the Distribution Code which may require them to update their electricity generators. This applies to electricity generators which are between 11kW and 50MW which were installed before February 2018 (or in some cases, July 2018). Confirmation of compliance was required by September 1, 2022.
More information and updates on this issue are available from the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub.
Public Switched Telephone Service - Get ready for closure
The traditional landline telephone network in the UK, the PSTN, is coming to the end of its life and is gradually being replaced. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is the lead Government department for this issue. BT has announced its intention to retire this network by December 2025.
There are a number of devices which are dependent on the PSTN such as health pendants, fire suppression systems, lift alarms, fax machines, and credit card terminals. Further information on this key issue, including the actions which E&F teams need to be taking now, is available from the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub.
Construction inflation advice for estates and facilities teams
Guidance to assist NHS Trusts to identify, plan for, and mitigate cost inflation during the project business case process and contracting is available on the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub within the Capital and Commercial area. Any queries on the document should be sent to [email protected] marked for the attention of the capital and commercial team.
BBC Radio 4 highlights progress on hospital food
BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme has broadcast a programme exploring the progress made on hospital food since the Independent Review of Hospital Food. The BBC visited the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield and the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital to hear how catering teams - including the winners of NHS Chef 2021 - are approaching food differently. Listen via BBC Sounds.
New flexible working toolkits
NHS England has created two flexible working guides, in collaboration with Timewise and NHS Staff Council: One for individuals and one for line managers.
The guide for individuals will help prepare staff for positive conversations to make requests about flexible working and provide staff with the best chance of agreeing a solution that works for them, their teams and their organisations.
The line manager guide offers support in how to lead a flexible team, helping managers to put structures and processes in place to support and encourage flexible workplace for all.
We encourage our estates and facilities workforce to fully embrace these new resources and for staff to discuss flexible working needs with their line manager. For more information please contact the flexible working team at [email protected].
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 now:
• [email protected] and
National Webinars
Please note the following dates in your diaries:
• October 27 - NHS Estates and Net Zero Carbon
• November 24 - The Great Food Good Health Programme, including NHS Chef 2022
• December 15 - ERIC 2021/21 (to be confirmed).
The webinar links and joining instructions will be sent to all listed E&F contacts. NHS staff who would like to attend these sessions can also contact [email protected] to request an invitation. All of the sessions outlined above will take place from 11am until 12:30pm.
The recordings of the recent national webinars: NHS E&F Resilience (June 30), National PLACE Programme (July 5 and 13), E&F Workforce Action Plan (July 20), Hospital Helicopter Landing Sites (August 11) and Fire Safety (September 28) are all available now from the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub.
NHS Estates and Facilities - Monthly Bulletin
The latest Bulletin was issued on September 30. The bulletin provides updates directly from NHS England’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. The next edition is expected to be issued during the week commencing October 24.
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.
