‘Hidden risks’ in legacy buildings

Andrew Steel, managing director of air hygiene and water treatment specialist, Airmec, considers some of the key priorities for estates and facilities teams managing older healthcare estates to ensure that both the buildings, and the plant and equipment within them, are maintained in a safe, fit-for-purpose condition. He stresses the need both for accurate and proper risk assessment – particularly when ‘legacy’ buildings have been regularly adapted, updated, or refurbished over time, and, equally, to maintain up-to-date and comprehensive  asset registers. 

Facilities management is part of PFI agreements, with a new PFI-funded hospital’s Trust typically using the PFI facilities management company for all the buildings and grounds maintenance. The Trust may also indeed be bound to use the PFI non-clinical services company for services such as cleaning, catering, laundry and linen, car parking, security, switchboard services, and portering. 

The lowest bidder will almost inevitably have won the PFI contract, and, for the provider to make it work, this means that FM services must be planned and delivered efficiently and cost-effectively. You do not need to dig too deeply in the news to find examples of failures in hotel and cleaning services. Shortfalls in delivering essential air and water services are thankfully rare, but again, delivering safe facilities to budget in these areas is certainly helped by having brand new infrastructure and, presumably, access to accurate records of every fixture and fitting – the reliable schematic asset register that is so often missing in older buildings.