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Capital and Facilities Division is responsible for policy and advice on all facilities matters impacting on the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates responsibilities for NHSScotland. Particular areas of responsibility are:
The planning, procurement, governance and performance management of physical assets from which healthcare services are delivered.
A Policy for Property and Asset Management in NHSScotland - NHS CEL 35 (2010)
Asset Challenge Methodology Diagram - A visual aid to assist the asset review process
Operational Guidance
Strategic Property and Asset Management Guidance for NHSScotland : Developing a Property and Asset Management Strategy (PAMS)
(Published by Health Facilities Scotland)
Property Appraisal Guidance for NHSScotland : A risk based methodology for property appraisal
(Published by Health Facilities Scotland)
NHSScotland Estates Asset Management: Property Appraisal Manual (updated November 2015)
(Published by Health Facilities Scotland)
Annual State of NHSScotland Assets and Facilities Report for 2014
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A review of asset management and facilities performance in NHSScotland, identifying the current state of the estate, highlighting areas of best practice and areas for improvement. This is a national annual report developed by Scottish Government with support from the territorial NHS Boards and Health Facilities Scotland (HFS). It reports on asset management and facilities services performance, highlights areas of best practice, and sets target areas for improvement which align with the aims of the “Better Health, Better Care” and the “Healthcare Quality Strategy”.
Previous reports:
Annual State of the NHSScotland Assets and Facilities Report for 2013
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Annual State of the NHSScotland Assets and Facilities Report for 2012
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State of the NHSScotland Estate report 2011
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In recent years the value of good design has been increasingly recognised and a wealth of evidence based findings has demonstrated that good design adds value, not only from an economic perspective but also in terms of a range of social and environmental benefits. This capacity to add value is particularly important for healthcare environments, where the physical and psychological well-being of patients, staff and visitors is of paramount consideration.
Scottish Ministers have, through their policies, sought to achieve a culture of quality in the procurement of publicly-funded buildings that embraces good design as a means of achieving value for money and sustainable development. The Scottish Government has five strategic objectives; it is committed to creating a Scotland that is:
It is clear that the design quality of our built environment must, by necessity, play a vital part in our ability to meet all of these strategic objectives. Government, thus, continues to promote and to encourage investment in well-designed buildings and places in both the public and private sectors.
In response to and, in support of the Scottish Government's quality objectives The Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates has revised its Policy on Design Quality for NHSScotland. The revised policy articulates the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates ambition for NHSScotland's asset base and, to embed the need for well-designed, sustainable healthcare environments as an integral part of high quality service delivery.
Policy on Design Quality for NHSScotland - 2010 Revision
Support for the implementation of the design agenda is provided by means of a coordinated, tripartite working arrangement between Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates (SGHSC), Health Facilities Scotland (HFS) and Architecture and Design Scotland (A+DS) to facilitate the procurement of well-designed, sustainable, healing environments which support the policies and objectives of NHS Boards and the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates.
Through this partnership arrangement, SGHSC, A+DS and HFS have developed a range of initiatives to assist NHSScotland in addressing design quality issues in the procurement of healthcare building projects, the summary objectives of which are to:
An assessment of design quality is now part of the SGHSC Business Case process. All projects submitted to the SGHSC Capital Investment Group for approval are now subject to an assessment of design quality and functionality, including technical and sustainability standards. This Design Assessment will take place during latter stages of development of the Initial Agreement, Outline Business Case and Full Business Case; the assessment to be carried out prior to formal consideration by the Health Board and before the business case is submitted to CIG. Guidance on the Design Assessment process has been added to the Scottish Capital Investment Manual.
The Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates purpose in developing and implementing this process is to ensure that the outcomes of development projects meet the Government’s objectives and expectations for public investment. The aim of mapping design into the Business Case process is to support the implementation of the Policy on Design Quality for NHSScotland by improving the level of design quality achieved across NHSScotland and, ultimately, the outcomes achieved by doing so.
To assist NHS Boards in utilising good design to achieve the best outcomes from their development projects, Boards are required to develop and produce a Design Statement prior to the submission of their Initial Agreement. The Design Statement is the first control document produced for a project and should be consistent with the Board’s overall vision contained within the strategic Design Action Plan.
Additional guidance on Design Assessment and the Business Case process has been added to the Scottish Capital Investment Manual. The guidance also includes advice on the preparation of the Design Statement.
Each NHS Board is required to develop a Design Action Plan to enshrine the Board's commitment to achieving design quality as set out in CEL 19 (2010) - A Policy on Design Quality for NHSScotland 2010.
Design Action Plan Guidance
SGHSC and A+DS have developed a template setting a framework within which each NHS Board may develop their own Design Action Plan.
Design Action Plan Template
A Design Action Plan Template has been developed in association with representatives of NHSScotland Boards and is a suggested format and methodology for the development of a Design Action Plan. The template is in Word format to facilitate easy editing. The template should be viewed alongside the above Design Action Plan Guidance on the purpose and content of Design Action Plans.
To assist in sharing good practice, Architecture and Design Scotland and Health Facilities Scotland have developed a website Healthier Places, which has been designed to house information on good healthcare design to assist NHS Boards in the development of the project brief and to raise awareness of the good practice being developed and delivered across NHSScotland and elsewhere. In addition to providing guidance on the development of "Design Statements" and, articles on healthcare design topics, the website holds a project resource - Pulse - a database of projects and examples of good practice.
Architecture and Design Scotland have produced a quick reference guide to the implications of different organisational diagrams on the utility, amenity and cost of shared facilities. Increasingly public services both within healthcare and other local services (such as housing, social work, police, leisure) are working closer together and being housed in the same facility. If well designed, an integrated services building can provide space for all the services in a smaller total area than had the services been located separately, thus reducing the environmental and economic impact of the development. This study aims to explore the opportunities and challenges of different organisational forms to help those involved in briefing, budgeting and early design make informed decisions about the building and its performance as a whole.
Circulation in multi-service facilities - quick reference guide
Scottish Futures Trust and Architecture + Design Scotland have published a study report, “Quality and Efficiency: Value for money lessons and performance measures from the Primary Care Reference Design Project” which records the good practice developed through a design study funded by the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, chaired by SFT, and delivered through Hub West Scotland.
In the study, two architectural practices were tasked with developing creative responses to the new integrated social and health care agenda: solutions which would meet the expectations of the Quality Strategy and the Policy on Design Quality for NHSScotland and which were efficient, affordable and deliverable in a real context. Concepts were developed through focused and intensive engagement with the client team and wider stakeholders for a project being commissioned by East Renfrewshire Community Health and Care Partnership (East Renfrewshire Council and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde).
You can find more information, including a copy of the report via the following link:
Quality and Efficiency: Value for money lessons and performance measures from the Primary Care Reference Design Project
On 27 August 2009 at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, launched the final publication produced under the 3-year Framework Agreement between the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates and Architecture and Design Scotland. "A Vision of Health" sets out the vision of some of Scotland's healthcare leaders and sets out the practical measures being put in place to assist NHSScotland in guiding projects to successful outcomes and is a pre-cursor to the new tripartite arrangement between the Health and Social Care Directorates, A+DS and Health Facilities Scotland to take forward the design agenda.
A Vision of Health - links to A+DS website
As part of the support provided by A+DS through the Framework Agreement with SGHSC, A+DS agreed to prepare a document to assist those professionals involved in the procurement, planning and development of our new healthcare facilities. The document provides examples of how some of the most successful clients of recent healthcare buildings in the UK have delivered uplifting healthcare environments.
Download a copy of Case Notes: Client Leadership from the A+DS website
On 30 April 2008 , at the annual workshop of the European Health Property Network in Belfast, A+DS launched its first publication designed specifically to support better healthcare development - Masterplanning Health. The publication addresses an area that is frequently underdeveloped in hospital schemes across the UK and is thought to be the first publication in Europe looking at masterplanning healthcare developments.
Download a copy of Masterplanning Health from the A+DS website
An aging population and the social and economic effects of dementia are key challenges for the NHS. Dementia friendly design is essential for all new health and social care buildings particularly primary care premises and those used mainly by older people.
Dementia Services Development Centre at Stirling University
NHS GG&C prepared a report in April 2009 for the Project and Design Teams of the New South Glasgow Hospitals Project. The report presents the ideas, hopes and aspirations of patients, carers and families for their new hospitals, gathered through a series of 16 design workshops and contains user recommendations for the design of 12 key areas of the new facilities.
The European Health Property Network held its 3 day conference in
Architecture and Design Scotland, in partnership with Health Facilities Scotland and the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, has developed an exhibition to illustrate how the NHSScotland Design Assessment Process (NDAP) has helped improve the nature, amenity and value for money of projects. A Picture of Health - From Policy to Places Designed for People exhibition is currently showing at the Lighthouse, Glasgow until 28 January 2015.
The exhibition material is now available online and can be accessed via the following link:
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Policy and guidance on the provision of single room accommodation and minimum bed spacing standards covering all projects for the replacement or refurbishment of patient accommodation whether they are within NHS Boards' delegated limits or submitted for approval through the process outlined in the Scottish Capital Investment Manual.
Chief Executive Letter (CEL) 48 (2008) confirmed the guidance for the provision of single room accommodation. It also advised that further work was being taken forward to advise the Chief Medical Officer. This was taken forward as an Expert Consultation (Delphi) over three stages in which the Clinical Specialty Advisers (designated by the Chief Medical Officer) considered which of the specialties 100% single room provision is appropriate for.
That process has now been completed and the Chief Medical Officer has reviewed the outcome of the Expert Consultation and taken into account the views of the specialty advisers. He has also considered the impact of increasing multidisciplinary team working and new ways of delivering care during the anticipated life span of new builds and extensive refurbishment.
Chief Executive Letter CEL 27 (2010), issued on 20 July 2010, affirms the policy stance on single bed room accommodation and bed spacing.
The Single Room Steering Group Report can be viewed through the following link:
The Expert Consultation (Delphi) Report has now been cleared for general publication and can be viewed through the following link:
Fire in a hospital or in other healthcare buildings can be especially serious because of the difficulties and dangers associated with the emergency evacuation of patients, many of whom will be highly dependent. For this reason the mandatory requirements set out within SGHSC Fire Safety Policy for NHSScotland must be complied with.
Fire in a hospital or in other healthcare buildings can be especially serious because of the difficulties and dangers associated with the emergency evacuation of patients, many of whom will be highly dependent. For this reason the mandatory requirements set out within CEL 11 (2011): Fire Safety Policy for NHSScotland must be complied with. They apply to all Chief Executives with operational responsibility for the delivery of healthcare, who also have a responsibility to ensure patients can be transferred to a place of safety without external intervention. Fire safety is especially important in those premises which provide sleeping accommodation, such as hospital wards.
Fire Safety Policy for NHSScotland 2011 - NHS CEL 11 (2011)
[Annex D of CEL 11 (2011): Fire Safety Policy for NHSScotland 2011 provides a position paper on fire suppression systems in healthcare premises prepared by the NHSScotland National Fire Safety Advisor and ratified by the NHSScotland Fire Safety Advisory Group.]
Supporting guidance
The Scottish Government has provided guidance on compliance with those aspects of statutory and mandatory requirements; the ‘Practical Fire Safety Guide for Healthcare Premises’ and, 'NHSScotland Firecode' guidance (issued by Health Facilities Scotland).
Practical Fire Safety Guide for Healthcare Premises
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NHSScotland Firecode
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Parts of NHSScotland premises may be put to a functional use other than the treatment of persons suffering from an illness or mental or physical disability in which case an alternative sector-specific Practical Fire Safety Guide may be more appropriate.
A Review Group was established in 2007 by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing to review existing guidance on car parking and arrangements for car park charging at NHSScotland hospital sites. As a result it was announced that car parking charges at NHSScotiand operated car parks would end from 31 December 2008.
Following an announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing of the Scottish Government's decision to abolish car park charging at NHSScotland healthcare sites, SGHSC issued further directions to NHS Boards in 2008 and 2010.
CEL 38 (2008) : Car Park Charging at NHSSotland Healthcare Sites
CEL 02 (2010) : Car Park Management at NHSScotland Healthcare Sites
CEL 5 (2010) - Car Park Management at NHSScotland Healthcare Sites - Clarification of CEL 38 (2008)
Revised guidance developed by the Review Group established by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing in 2007 was issued to NHS Boards under cover of Chief Executive Letter CEL 1 (2008) in January 2008.
CEL 1 (2008) : Revised Guidance on Hospital Car Park Charging
CEL 1 (2008) directed NHS Boards to review their car parking policies taking into account the recommendations contained within the CEL and submit reports to SGHSC.
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