Fire safety
Reminder of fire safety consideration when increasing the estate capacity of existing areas
With NHS Trusts implementing plans to support additional levels of patient care during the busy winter period, this document provides an important reminder of the legal duties around fire safety. It also includes some basic checks that should be made in order to mitigate any potential risks when making changes to the NHS estate to increase capacity and patient throughput. If you have any queries please e-mail: [email protected] marking for the attention of Mazin Daoud.
New National Standards for Healthcare Food and Drink
The new National Standards for Healthcare Food and Drink are available on the NHS England website. You can also read a summary in this short blog.
The Standards, developed following the NHS Food Review in collaboration with an expert panel of caterers, nurses, doctors, dietitians, and others, will ensure that patients, staff and visitors have access to good quality, healthy, nutritious food options, wherever they are in the country. In addition, further information has been provided regarding support in fulfilling the new standards. This can be found on the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub.
A national webinar on the new National Standards, Great Food Good Health Programme and the NHS Chef 2022 competition took place on November 24. The webinar recording and other supporting materials will be available via the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub in the next few days.
Hospital Helipad Landing Sites: data collection
Our short survey on Hospital Helipad Landing Sites (HHLSs) was launched on November 8. This followed a recent national webinar on the issue. The recording and other background material is available from the NHS Estates Collaboration Hub.
The purpose of this survey is to establish the basic information we need to understand the provision of HHLSs in the NHS. This will help us to understand how these sites are managed as well as the actions (if any) required centrally to support the delivery of a policy in this area. The information provided will also enable us to quantify any estates related risks.
You can access the survey (and associated guidance) from the following link: HHLS Data Collection
The survey runs until November 30. We would like to thank those E&F teams which have already completed the survey. If there are any queries regarding completion of the survey then please e-mail: [email protected] marked for the attention of Michael Bellas and Chetan Tailor.
National PLACE collection running until November 30
The first full PLACE collection since 2019 concludes soon on November 30, 2022. Further information is available on the Hub which includes 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.
Apprenticeship Challenge update
Back in April we launched the Apprenticeship Challenge to increase the number of apprenticeships starts in Estates and Facilities from 450 to 1,000 per year.
Six months into the challenge, we have already had 320 people start new estates and facilities-specific apprenticeships. Thanks to your efforts and support this is over 70% of what we would normally get in a whole year, so a very promising start.
There are a range of resources available to support you to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in your organisation via the HASO (Healthcare Apprentice Standards Online) website. To find out more about how to get involved in the NHS Estates and Facilities Apprenticeship Challenge contact: [email protected].
The Estates Net Zero Carbon Delivery Plan: Technical Annex
The Estates Net Zero Carbon Delivery Plan: Technical Annex provides more detailed support and guidance on the six themes and eleven strategic actions that were set out in the Delivery Plan, published in November 2021.
Flood Risk Tool
The Flood Risk Tool is now available for use. The toolkit has been developed to help Trusts to increase their understanding of flood risk across local sites and regional geographies; and inform business continuity and emergency preparedness plans for flood events.
Help us to improve the NHS Premises Assurance Model submission process
We would like to thank E&F teams following the submission of the PAM responses. We are continually looking to improve our processes so we would like to hear your thoughts and any suggestions to improve the experience. A survey has been sent to all registered users; if you have not received this and would like to provide some feedback please email: [email protected].
National Estates and Facilities Workforce Engagement Forum
The National Estates and Facilities Workforce Engagement Forum is a great way to hear about our work, give your feedback, share best practice, and help shape future priorities. The Forum meets bi-monthly on the first Thursday of the month. E-mail: [email protected] to join the distribution list. We will be focusing on the following topics at the next meetings:
• January 5 - Recruitment
• March 2 - National Uniform Project.
National Webinars
Please note the following dates in your diaries:
• January 26 - ERIC 2021/21 (please note the new date)
• March 30 - Apprenticeship Challenge (One Year On)
• April 27 - Public Switched Telephone Network: Service Closure.
These sessions are being 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. NHS staff who would like to attend these sessions can also contact: [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.
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 latest Bulletin was issued on October 31. 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 register to receive future editions of the newsletter. The next edition is expected to be issued in the next week.
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.
