BUILDING MAINTENANCE
this year, one of the keynote speeches placed considerable emphasis on reviewing capital funding for the maintenance programme. The emphasis here, quite rightly, is on ensuring that no gaps are felt within communities, which can often feel aggrieved when funding appears to be being prioritised unevenly between districts, or in new areas of healthcare over existing, valued infrastructure.
Impacting morale and perceptions The importance of a high-quality care environment is clear when we consider how the standard and character of such settings impacts the morale and perceptions of all users – patients, staff, and visitors. Patients often arrive at local health centres in ill health or – in some cases – in need of urgent treatment. We must facilitate the creation of surroundings that aid feelings of wellbeing, rather than ones which exacerbate symptoms and make patients feel worse, as well as providing a demotivating staff working environment. Ensuring that healthcare environments cater for disabled people is equally vital, and when we are undertaking maintenance or repair work in healthcare settings, we must always consider modern regulatory standards, including ground- level services and walkway accessibility.
Frameworks in delivery Frameworks have been central to the effective updating of our local health centres. As part of the wider NHS SBS Framework, the NHS maintenance programme has provided an efficient and flexible route to procure our services, which, crucially, could be called upon for both planned and ad hoc requirements. The provision of frameworks such as this has indeed been critical to an effective ongoing maintenance programme, with the extent of repair and maintenance work required fluctuating depending on a building’s condition, while at other times healthcare buildings may deteriorate rapidly, and thus require immediate attention. Furthermore, an increasing number of projects have been undertaken via the programme since it was first conceived, further highlighting the contract flexibility available. Put simply, appointing us as a consultant
on a framework such as this one significantly reduces the time required to source services, a key driver when it comes to alleviating the immediate pressures on public health services. Frameworks are implemented effectively when characterised by the same philosophy that the NHS was first conceived on: collaboration, and delivering long-term relationships that deliver multiple client gains. For example, with our multidisciplinary expertise, the local authorities assisted via
122 Health Estate Journal October 2023
Elements such as LED lighting not only help brighten environments, provide greater longevity than older lighting technologies, and cut carbon, but also reduce overheads.
this framework have been able to benefit from our other service areas – including structural and civil engineering – saving time, money, and effort, in having to find a separate supplier, and in turn streamlining the use of public funds. Where possible, the services of local SMEs have also been procured to help undertake the improvement works, giving back to the local community, and in turn forming part of our over-arching commitment at Pick Everard to ensure that 75% of our supply chain is made up of SMEs and ‘micro suppliers’.
A ‘community first’ approach New healthcare facilities will always grab the headlines, simply due to the inherent ability of the project teams working on them to start from scratch, and build with forward-thinking technology front and centre of the design approach. For example, many new healthcare facilities
are incorporating ‘green heating’ solutions such as heat pumps, while no-touch technology has seen massive expansion as a result of the lessons from the pandemic. However, it is vital within the healthcare
conversation that we do not forget about our existing local healthcare practices, and the hard-working professionals and patients they support. Incremental improvements add up to a greater sum of their parts, and by taking the time to fix leaking roofs or inefficient lighting and heating/cooling systems, the sector is making small gains in the wider quest to overhaul the NHS estate portfolio. At Pick Everard, we continue to engage with local authorities on their healthcare requirements, driven by an ambition to deliver better together and collaborate on maintenance improvements that ultimately drive value at the heart of our communities, and build a safe and healthy future for all.
Amit Vadgama
Amit Vadgama is a Principal building surveyor at Pick Everard, an award-winning independent property, construction, and infrastructure consultancy. With over 20 years’ industry experience, he has collaborated on a number of award- winning projects, most notably Leicester Royal Infirmary, which received sector plaudits for its innovative flat roofing design. He was also at the forefront of Public Health England’s transition from the Health Protection Agency, designing and
project managing office fit-out works for it across the country, including the second headquarters in London.
He forms part of the wider healthcare team at Pick Everard, which works with more than 50 NHS Trusts, charities, and private organisations, providing services on a full range of projects, from work at primary care centres and urgent treatment units, through to delivering estate rationalisation and improvement strategies.
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