NHS SBS launches £1.6bn Construction Consultancy Framework Agreement

Leading corporate services provider, NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS), has today unveiled the third-generation of its Construction Consultancy framework agreement, ‘Healthcare Planning, Construction Consultancy & Ancillary Services (HPCCAS)‘ with an offering that  can speed up hospital builds.

The new framework agreement offers the NHS and other public sector organisations a compliant and cost-effective route for procuring construction-related services including architecture, civil and structural engineering and surveying, amongst others.

The NHS in England has 1,500 hospitals. Some buildings pre-date it. Without regular renovation the care, safety and wellbeing of patients, hospital staff and the public can be compromised.

Build back better

Figures from NHS Digital put the cost to eradicate the backlog of repairs and maintenance of the hospital estate at £10.2bn, more than double that of £4.7bn in 2011/12.

In response, the government’s New Hospital Programme has committed to build 40 new hospitals by the end of the decade, backed by over £20bn of investment in hospital infrastructure.

At the centre of the programme is the “hospital 2.0” concept, a vision for how hospital schemes can be delivered with greater efficiency and reduced cost.

NHS Hospital Trusts will work with a central programme team, as well as local and regional stakeholders, to design and deliver green, energy-efficient buildings through to hospitals using state-of-the-art technology to improve the health of the local population.

The scale of the New Hospital Programme calls upon the skills of companies of all sizes, across a broad range of sectors.

Construction, Consulting and Ancillary Services ‘a one-stop shop’

NHS SBS’ HPCCAS framework agreement offers a UK-wide, comprehensive, convenient and compliant route to find and purchase services from 179 carefully vetted suppliers operating in the construction space, quickly and efficiently.

The framework agreement is free to use and comprises 11 distinct service types (Lots) including Architectural Services, Civil & Structural Engineering, Building Surveyors, Principal Designer Services and Multi-Disciplinary Services.

Provision for emerging services in construction

As the UK’s largest employer, the NHS is responsible for around 4% of the nation’s carbon emissions. It is, therefore, committed to tackling climate change by reducing its direct emissions to net zero by 2040 and 2045 for those emissions it can influence.

The HPCCAS framework agreement has included a specific Net Zero, Environmental Consultancy & Sustainability lot to support users achieve cost-effective carbon footprint reduction.

The Healthcare Planning lot provides all elements of Healthcare Planning and strategy including developing models of care, demand & capacity modelling, business case development, population health needs assessment, and strategic estates planning.

Melissa King, NHS SBS senior category manager – Construction & Infrastructure, commented:

“To achieve the level of investment and regeneration required across the NHS and public sector, customers need a compliant, secure and trusted route that helps them navigate construction consultancy services through to procurement.

“To cater for regionalised procurement, 78% of the suppliers appointed are small to medium sized enterprises, sitting alongside larger multi-disciplinary (tier 1) suppliers.

“Previous iterations of the framework agreement have achieved 10-15% savings. With £1.6bn expected spend via it over the next four years, the HPCCAS framework agreement has the potential to achieve public sector savings of up £240m.”