NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has opened a new facilities management (FM) digital platform as part of changes in its administration systems.
The move comes just after it announced an extension of the pilot for the NHS Open Space room booking platform.
Named CORE, the new FM platform has replaced the MiCad customer portal with an online form for non-urgent jobs that the organisation said will be easier to use.
Other functions include the ability to request updates on jobs and assess compliance certificates, while helplines are being maintained for urgent jobs.
NHSPS said the platform should provide benefits including greater first time success from an engineer’s visit, more accurate monitoring of assets and increased levels of building compliance.
“We are looking forward to the improvements CORE will bring to our FM services in the immediate release and in the near future as we continually make enhancements, with the ambition to provide SLA and KPI reporting, to ultimately enhance our customers’ property and ability to care for patients,” it said.
Open Space expansion
It has also indicated that is expanding the pilot for the use of NHS Open Space, which provides users with detailed information about rooms, availability, payments and the ability to make bookings. It was launched in 2017 and has had over 1,000 unique users from 350 NHS bodies and companies, making over 65,000 bookings.
The online booking system was designed by NHSPS with the support of Kajima Partnerships, and developed by Kajima on its BookingsPlus platform. The on-site experience, business model and strategy has been solely developed by NHSPS.
It is live at 20 sites and NHSPS is gathering feedback to further develop the booking system and aiming to improve the on-site experience. It plans to begin full implementation in the fourth quarter of this year, and to add a new set of properties in the first half of next year.
John Westwood, director of asset management at NHS Property Services, said: “At NHS Property Services we are pioneering the alignment of technology and the estate through our NHS Open Space pilot, which makes a more efficient use of the building space available in the NHS through a simple use digital platform.
“This allows healthcare professionals to easily find and book space available in NHS buildings, saving time and money whilst providing greater flexibility and choice.”
Last week the King’s Fund published a report urging NHS organisations to combine the planning of their technology and estate investments. The health and social care policy charity said the two should be better integrated and that increasing the use of digital could free up space for alternative uses in many NHS buildings.
Image by Michael Coghlan, CC BY 2.0
