Latest Healthcare Environments News

Our ProCure21 Principal Supply Chain Partner Interserve Health picked up a runners up award in the category of "Integrated Supply Chain Team Of The Year" Interserve Health was the only P21 team to gain recognition for it's achievement under the relativly recent procurement method designed for healthcare projects over £1 million capital value.

Healthcare Environments are proud to be associated with other key companies that specialise in healthcare, such as Arup, Capita, Aedas and HLM brought together by Interserve Health.

The award was gained for "the military precision of the operation" with the team scoring well above industry benchmarks and making "staggering" savings on cost.

Primary Focus on ProCure 21

Healthcare Environments Limited are the primary supply chain member (PSCM) leader, for health facility planning, within the Interserve Projects Services Ltd ProCure21 principal supply chain partner (PSCP).

With the extended trawl for the 12 successful PSCPs behind us, health construction is now set to reap the benefits of ProCure21.

Healthcare Environments has been working towards its role as a PSCM, achieved during the regional pilot phase, since the inception of ProCure21 in May 2000.

The sustained and continued effort required to successfully achieve selection as one of the 12 PSCPs in September 2003 has been both challenging and rewarding. Our decision to pursue accreditation for ISO9001:2000, achieved in September 2002, was strongly influenced by our experience of ProCure 21. The experience helped to reinforce our process mapping, benchmarking and continuous improvement skills: all essential strengths supporting the ProCure21 concept.

What particularly attracted us to ProCure21 was the increased recognition, commenced in the PFI Design Protocol, of the distinct role health planning must contribute to projects as an essential part of the supply chain.

The rigorous selection process, culminating in an intensive series of interviews, workshops and site visits over a ten day period should provide ample evidence for client NHS Trusts of the competencies and track record of the 12 selected PSCPs.

The major benefit gained by NHS Trust clients from the five year framework agreement is the dramatic reduction in the tendering period, which will typically mean a 12 month saving in the time needed prior to commencement of work on site.

Another significant improvement derives from the need to demonstrate the closer spirit of collaboration that has evolved within the supply chains, leading to leaner processes and greater efficiency.

Efficiency will be further enhanced by the mobilisation of regional teams, in the vicinity of NHS Trust projects, with local suppliers already integrated as part of the supply chain.

Each PSCP will confer the competitive advantages of its own research and development, spurred by the ProCure21 selection process, which is likely to result in many innovative solutions being introduced to the health construction sector.

Over the longer term, projects will gain from the benchmarking of earlier schemes through the adoption of performance related standards and continuous improvement.

From our perspective, ProCure21 participation will yield many benefits for all members of the PSCPs:

If ProCure21 gains the same level of acceptance that was experienced with the regional pilots, which dramatically exceeded the target workloads, and becomes the primary procurement method, Healthcare Environments is ideally placed to win even more work opportunities. The intention that ProCure21 will become the world leading method of procurement is likely to support our future efforts in exporting our knowledge to projects overseas.

Other benefits are:

" increased recognition of the health facility planning role
" stability of long term partnering relationships with the supply chain
" eradication of conflicting needs of design team members
" collaboration with other members of the supply chain

Healthcare Environments is already benefiting from collaboration through the active development of online information systems that will make our knowledge, gained from almost eleven years of practice experience, more widely available to support NHS Trust developments. With the support of other members of the team we are now able to realise a long term ambition of an online 3D briefing system that is fully integrated with the information requirements of all professional disciplines within the construction industry.

At Healthcare Environments we believe the £2.2 billion ProCure21 initiative presents an unprecedented opportunity to significantly improve the procurement of healthcare facilities through partnership.

We look forward to a buoyant, stable and well monitored market environment that will enable us to bring our much needed skills and knowledge to support a wider audience of NHS Trust clients aiming to improve the patient experience.