Implementing a centralised Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) system to manage ongoing workflow and maintenance can make healthcare estates more efficient, while also ensuring that ‘nothing falls through the cracks with regards to compliance’. So says Nigel Robinson, General manager of international facilities management software provider, Service Works Global, who explains how to implement a digital strategy and the resulting benefits, with examples from work carried out with the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Staff across the NHS, including the healthcare estates and facilities and healthcare engineering personnel who maintain and look after healthcare facilities, are increasingly being asked to improve efficiencies while at the same time cutting costs – requests that can seem at odds with each other. This is is all at a time when compliance challenges are greater than ever, which can be made even harder when managing an estate with numerous buildings.
There are already statutory reporting mechanisms in place that include sections about estates and facilities. The Estates Returns Information Collection (ERIC) system collects quantitative data on the costs, operational aspects, and performance metrics of running an NHS estate, while the Premises Assurance Model (PAM) covers a broader range of qualitative aspects like governance, patient experience, and statutory compliance, across different technical areas.
Digitalising an estate will make statutory reporting much more efficient, while also supporting compliance and cost reduction.
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