Background
It is the Trust’s responsibility and overriding priority to deliver the best possible care and outcomes for patients in a safe environment and at the best value for money for taxpayers.
Earlier this year, the Trust Board made the decision to review how soft facilities management services are provided across the organisation. These services include catering, housekeeping, cleaning, portering and security.
It is important to be clear that no final decision on the future provision of these services has yet been made.
The impetus for this review was that the Trust’s contract with OCS (a provider of soft facilities management services widely used across the NHS in the UK) will end in April 2025. OCS currently provide these services at Ipswich Hospital. They are currently provided on an in-house basis at Colchester Hospital and our community sites.
Tender process
In considering whether the Trust should adopt a single, consistent approach for the provision of these services across all its sites, an outline business case was presented to the Trust Board in April this year. Following an options process, the Board decided that the Trust should test the market for organisations who could provide soft facilities management services.
A detailed specification of the services was developed with input from staff across the Trust, including, of course, those who work in them. The market testing exercise has been led by the Crown Commercial Services, a national body, independent of the Trust, who are experts in procurement.
The current position
Following consideration by the Trust’s Executive Management Committee, the final business case will be discussed at a Trust Board meeting on 5 December 2024, in a private session. Details of the Board’s decision with be published as soon as possible thereafter.
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