Annual State of the NHSScotland Assets and Facilities Report for 2012

Annex E

Review of PPP/PFI Facilities Management Contracts

One of the areas identified by Health Facilities Scotland for examination is the operational management of the current PPP/PFI contracts across Scotland.

Contracts have been entered into for facilities management services as part of PPP/PFI contracts since the mid 1990s. The terms and conditions of early contracts are inconsistent and are being managed by Boards at a variety of levels. To date there has not been coordination of the management of these contracts at a national or regional level.

At present there are 26 contracts across 9 NHS Boards covering a variety of services, the value of these contracts is £963m. This figure will, depending upon the contract, include the unitary charge (the cost of the buildings etc), rates, utilities and facilities management cost. A significant proportion of this figure will, due to the nature of the contracts be fixed however opportunities may exist around the semi-fixed and variable costs to, in conjunction with the contractors, explore the delivery of a high quality more cost effective service.

In order to extract best value and increase the quality delivered through these contracts there will be closer cooperation across the service, a greater sharing of experience and a more consistent approach to the management of these contracts. This will ensure the services provided by the contractors, on behalf of the NHS in Scotland are patient centred, deliver a consistent high quality and are value for money.

Working closely with the Scottish Futures Trust a detailed analysis of the current contracts and their management will be undertaken, and best practice will be identified and shared.