Property security
A‘live-in’s ecurity solution examined
Simon Finneran, managing director of vacant property protection specialist, Ad Hoc Property Management (pictured), discusses how, in the company’s words, estates managers in the healthcare sector “can make significant savings when looking for vacant property security solutions by installing salaried individuals in disused buildings to act as ‘live in security’§.”
s budgetary pressures and demands for efficiency continue to gain momentum, providing a cost- effective solution to property security is often a key topic of discussion for estates and facilities managers in the healthcare sector. Across the UK, NHS sites are closing down for a variety of reasons – most notably the need to cut costs, consolidating hospitals, offices, and clinics into one larger site, or for refurbishment. Handling projects such as these is part and parcel of a day in the life of an NHS estates manager. However, the interim period that follows these closures, in which decision-makers are faced with the task of finding an alternative use, or gaining approvals for the sale of property, can take several months, or more. In this time these buildings are susceptible to asset stripping, vandalism, and illegal occupation ‘(squatting’), which can, in turn, result in untold damage. In mainland Europe an innovative
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security solution – ideal for small or larger property assets – has been taking hold, and in recent years this initiative has been embraced by a number of NHS and private healthcare provider estates managers across the UK. It is already a solution chosen by 86 local authorities up and down the country covering assets such as schools, libraries, and town halls, in addition to other assets, such as redundant police stations or courthouses, and even prisons. The list is virtually limitless. Habitable space is the common denominator.
‘Live-in’ security
Salaried individuals are installed in disused buildings across the UK to act as ‘live in security’. These individuals – ranging from key workers (including nurses) or divorcees to former military personnel or new graduates (including a few newly qualified doctors) in their first jobs – are referred to as ‘property guardians’, and are given the opportunity
Simon Finneran.
to live in unusual and spacious buildings for a minimal cost. In exchange they are tasked with protecting property from the threat of squatters, thieves, asset- strippers, and criminal damage, the idea being that a building is protected by occupation, while all the while providing an affordable living solution to large groups of professional individuals. Organisations such as Ad Hoc Property Management are pioneers in providing this innovative service to the healthcare sector. With property guardians in residence, the property is protected, reducing risk, and ensuring that any maintenance or other issues are quickly identified and resolved. The financial benefits of implementing a guardian solution are highly favourable for estates managers, especially when the resulting savings can be put to better use. Dozens of hospitals across the UK are being closed or downgraded every year, and the opportunity to reinvest funds from these closures into patient care would be welcomed with open arms by healthcare providers across the country.
Expense of security provision The option of installing security guards – while effective in the majority of cases – can entail significant costs. For example boarding up and hiring security guards for a 67,000 ft2
property (half the size of Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital) Health Estate Journal 61September 2016
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