NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has today announced changes to the way it delivers hard facilities management services (‘Hard FM’), which will see the government-owned company take direct control of selected services.

Responsible for the management and maintenance of 3,500 properties across England, encompassing 7,000 tenants, NHSPS has one of the largest portfolios in the UK, valued in excess of £3bn and representing approximately 10% of the total NHS estate.

The move to insource Hard FM services, i.e. those that relate to the maintenance of the physical materials of a building, follows a detailed review by NHSPS. This has determined which services should be delivered directly by NHSPS instead of the current provider Mitie. These include plumbing, electrical, mechanical, water systems, fire safety systems, lighting and building inspections.

Other selected services such as air conditioning, heating, and gas will continue to be provided by Mitie or transferred to trusted partners.

The change will take place on 1 April 2020 when approximately 140 Mitie employees affected by the decision will transfer to NHSPS’s employment.

Martin Steele, Chief Executive Officer of NHSPS, said,

“This decision supports our business strategy to deliver improved value for the NHS and is part of a wider program to rebalance our service delivery model. By taking these elements of facilities management in-house, we will have greater control over the standard and flexibility of service we provide our NHS customers. Given the scale of this service nationally, we will also be able to achieve significant cost efficiencies, to be reinvested back into the NHS.”