NHS launches £800m hard facilities management framework

NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has launched its second-generation Hard Facilities Management (Hard FM) framework agreement.

The second iteration of the procurement organisation’s highly-successful framework is designed to respond to the need within the NHS for high-quality, innovative, and cost-effective solutions which help NHS trusts manage their estates successfully.

And the new framework’s scope has broadened to encompass COVID-19 safety provisions and includes a specific emphasis on sustainability and innovation.

Maintaining a safe environment in healthcare settings – from infection control, through to the maintenance and upkeep of medical facilities and equipment – has a direct bearing on patient safety and care, the wellbeing of the NHS workforce, and that of the wider public.

Data from NHS Digital’s 2020/21 Estates Return Information Collection, shows that the annual cost of running the NHS estate currently stands at £10.2billion - a 4% increase on 2019/2020, with the cost of clearing the required maintenance backlog having risen 2.2% to £9.2 billion.

To support this challenge, NHS SBS’s renewed Hard FM framework agreement has been specifically designed for the NHS and healthcare sector, with inputs from NHS trusts, the wider healthcare community, and the public sector.

The framework can provide up to 10% savings for estate, facilities and capital development teams that buy services through it. And, with an £800m expected spend via the framework over the next four years, it could potentially equate to public sector savings of up to £80m.

The framework caters for the significant developments in the digitisation and automation of systems and access control which have come to the fore since its previous iteration.

For example, contactless preliminary temperature screenings at entry points in hospitals and healthcare settings, which detect individuals attempting to access the building who may have elevated body temperature.

As the UK’s largest employer, the NHS is responsible for around 4% of the nation's carbon emissions. It is, therefore, committed to tackling climate change by reducing its direct emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2040 and 2045 for those wider emissions it can influence.

And, with 60% of the NHS carbon footprint occurring within the NHS supply chain, public procurement will be leveraged to effect change.

Therefore, commencing April 1, NHS England extended the reach of the Government’s model to deliver social value through its commercial activities, Procurement Policy Note 06/20 (PPN 06/20), to the commissioning and purchase of goods and services by NHS organisations.

The Hard FM framework makes provision for this via the 154 suppliers awarded a place across its 46 specialist lots. This mix of expertise spans the provision of low carbon energy infrastructure, incorporating smart microgrids with on-site generation of renewable energy, alongside air cleaning, decontamination, and infection control systems.

The framework also includes COVID-secure queue management systems and access control, partitioning, isolation, and social distancing systems, and integrated workplace management systems.

Brendan Griffin-Ryan, NHS SBS senior category manager for estates and facilities, said: “The management of NHS estates and facilities demands specialist expertise in areas such as strategic planning alongside comprehensive knowledge of the estate’s condition.

“Compliance, with an ever-increasing list of regulations, places further pressure on teams managing these vital services, and this framework is designed to support estate managers meet these targets and provide a compliant route for reactive, planned, and new installations of equipment and infrastructure.

“With an approach heavily focused on sustainability, NHS SBS’s agreement ensures broader ethical environmental objectives are considered and met, tying into the strategies and ambitions detailed in NHS England’s Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service plan.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented new safety and infection control challenges and led to healthcare providers having to significantly adapt to ensure they can maintain COVID-safe environments. Hence, the framework’s inclusion of a range of supplier services and innovative solutions, such as touch-free entrance technology, to support the new requirements.”