For the first time a full account of the properties and facilities held by NHS Scotland has been assembled and selected information and learning from it released. The Scottish Government, in co-ordination with the NHS Scotland boards and Health Facilities Scotland, has compiled the “State of the Estate” report, the first part of which was released last week, to establish what resources are available within the estate, how these are managed and what condition these assets are in. This should enable boards and NHS Scotland in general, to fully consider their asset management and maintenance strategies in the future.
The report describes how the data collected will be combined into a new Performance Framework which will link property and asset performance to service and patient needs. These will be based on facilities based intepretations of the NHSScotland Quality Strategy’s three Quality Ambitions such as the key statement:”People Centred: Property Assets support service needs and patient preferences through focussed, equitable and quality accomodation”.
The report also includes case studies and foward looking plans that describe Scotland as “at the forefrontof best practice in a number of aspects of property and asset management including: collaborative and joint working across public sector bodies and [..] the application of “User-Centred Design” for new healthcare facilities”.
The Scottish Government says “This 2011 report is a first step to measure and explore differences in asset performance across NHSScotland, seeking explanation for these differences and highlighting areas for further investigation.” The report highlights good progress in relation to asset management, collaborative working and new facilities that enables best practice to be seen, and potentially incorporated into a framework to allow comparative assessment of asset management, as the survey is repeated in the future to establish improvements and changes in the assets available.
