Hospitals: Facilities on frontline says NHS supremo

Providing frontline support and suitable buildings for hospitals is as important as the work of the doctors and nurses that staff them, the new NHS Estates chief executive and accounting officer Peter Wearmouth told Health Facilities Management Association (Hefma) representatives at its annual conference held in London.

'We are in the frontline just as much as doctors and nurses,' Wearmouth said. He told the conference that when he went to hospital, a grumpy security guard had barked at him, and he then had a long walk down a corridor because of broken down services.

Calling for hospitals to develop services similar to those of a hotel, he said that long-term stewardship is the way forward. 'We have to underpin the work of doctors and nurses.'

The key issues on his agenda include housekeeping — in other words the management of the patient from the minute they enter the hospital, the design of hospitals and also food safety.

The latter is an area that has received considerable attention in recent months.

The conference took place just after celebrity chef Loyd Grossman launched new menus for hospital food.

The plan to revamp hospital catering has been welcomed by facilities managers working for the NHS, although implementation could be tough.

Geoff Callan, chairman of Hefma, said the move highlights the importance of facilities management in hospitals. By the end of the year hospitals must be able to provide the new menu, have food available 24-hours-a-day, and have 'snack boxes' ready for patients.

Callan said the move may prove difficult for some, but it was worth making.

'It will be hard, but so what? It's brought facilities to the top table. We're all for it. If it improves patient nutrition then that is a good thing.'

The NHS is investigating the viability of a company, or group of companies, supplying cook chill food to all NHS hospitals.