Blog: Patients are at the centre of our FM, Property and Business Services category
As we continue our focus on Estates and FM this month, Jackie Williams, Senior Category Manager for FM, Property and Business Services, gives us an update on the work of her category team.
“As a category our key areas of focus are supporting the drive to a net zero NHS, embedding sustainability and social value into the Estates and FM sector, and developing relationships with our members, the wider NHS and our suppliers.
“The volume of projects we are supporting post Covid-19 has increased significantly within our category. Together with our Operations team, we are currently facilitating 11 further competitions under our framework and DPS portfolio for our members. We also have upcoming projects in linen and laundry, waste services, security services and hard FM services in the pipeline. This activity enables us to remain focused on the current market challenges in procuring these services enabling us to guide and support you with your procurement activity. Usage of our Minor Works and Trades DPS, which enables members and the wider NHS to engage with their local and SME supplier base, has increased now that the value of contracts that can be let under the DPS has increased to £5 Million. This is supporting Trusts with their social value objectives to engage with local supply markets.
Net zero goal
“The category covers a broad range of services which can help tackle carbon emissions within transport and estates. Statistics from Greener NHS reported that road travel by NHS patients, staff, visitors, and suppliers in England contributes around 14% of the health service’s total carbon emissions. This is a challenge the Estates and FM category team can support as we all work towards the goal of a net zero NHS by 2040.
“Following the introduction of the new Central Commercial Function (CCF), our category team are becoming increasingly active in supporting the national, regional, and local agenda. The function aims to unite the NHS commercial community and fully utilise the collective buying power of the NHS. Our team are currently working with various ICS’s across our membership to run collaborative procurements for linen and laundry, and waste. This reduces duplication and variation by using resources more effectively and increasing the potential to deliver savings for the NHS via aggregation of spend and collaborative procurement activity.
Expanding team
“Our work with NHS PiP has continued to evolve and has allowed us to reduce duplication and expand the services we offer through collaboration with our partners. We have also been able to share skills, knowledge, and expertise to enhance stakeholder engagement and ultimately improve our shared customer experience.
“Our team recently expanded to bring in a Supplier Relationship Manager which has allowed us to have more dialogue with our suppliers to support our NHS objectives and harness the collective knowledge and expertise within our supplier base.
“Through all the work that we do in the Estates and FM category team, the patients are always at the centre of our efforts. Patients observe the estates environment on a day-to-day basis and because of this, our work always returns to the goal of improving outcomes for patients and their user experience.
“We are always pushing to enhance our range of solutions for our members and the wider NHS. If you would like to hear more about what we can offer, we can arrange to visit you at your Trust or meet virtually to present our range of solutions and outline how we can assist to deliver your requirements. If you would like to find out more, please contact the team via the NOE CPC support desk.”