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Lawyers from DAC Beachcroft have led work on a groundbreaking contract worth up to £700m that has brought together NHS Trusts in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland with international support services and construction group, Interserve.
Following an 18-month collaborative procurement process, the seven-year contracts were signed by:
The contracts - that began on 1 March and saw 2,000 employees transfer to Interserve - will help improve estates and facilities management (FM) services across the city and counties. It is the first time these Trusts have joined together to manage their facilities and estates, including health centres, hospitals and community services.
Commenting on the deal, Lee Clarke, Associate at DAC Beachcroft and the legal lead adviser to the project, said: "This groundbreaking joint procurement for comprehensive FM and estate development services, has removed inefficiencies caused by fragmented service delivery and improved the ability for strategic collaboration between the NHS Trusts and the private sector partner.
"Driven by the need to find year-on-year savings without compromising quality, this competitive dialogue procurement resulted in immediate savings for our NHS clients while protecting service standards. By unlocking efficiencies and economies of scale, the Trusts have reduced operational FM costs by 20 to 30 per cent based on their previous spend. This framework model is ideal for Trusts seeking to make year-on-year savings, increase utilisation of their estate and further reduce their operational estate costs in the medium term.
"The consolidation of the delivery of FM services in the local NHS economy into one arrangement with a single supplier is an easy way to find the occupancy cost savings that many NHS Trusts need to find."
Sue Bishop, Director of Finance for the Leicester City, Leicestershire County and Rutland PCT Cluster, who chairs the Programme Board which has led these developments, said: “A key difference with this agreement is that we have brought together the needs of patients and staff right across the NHS, giving greater scope for consistency, quality and efficiency of the services, as well as providing value for money."
Adrian Ringrose, Chief Executive for Interserve said: “This joined-up approach of combining facilities and estates services is the first of its kind in the UK, supporting the efforts of the NHS to shape services around the patient experience.
"As an experienced provider in delivering services in a clinical environment, this is a great opportunity for Interserve to work with the Trusts to redefine their services and their hospitals.”