South Central Ambulance
Service NHS Trust (SCAS) was established in 2006 following the
merger of four ambulance trusts. Capita Symonds worked with the
Trust to produce an overarching Estate Strategy in 2007 to provide
‘direction of travel’ and set the emerging strategy for the new
Trust as a whole.
Subsequently, considerable progress
was made on a number of strategic issues; a revised and updated
Strategy was therefore required. We produced the revised Estate
Strategy in 2009 with the benefit of updated information and data
collected via a series of interviews with key stakeholders. This
has identified priority areas for estate investment supported by
robust business cases.
The challenge
- To produce an initial Estate Strategy
incorporating four former Trusts into one strategic vision for over
40 properties across a geographical spread of 4,600 sqm
- Updating the initial Strategy to
reflect latest Trust strategic aims, service model and national
drivers in the ambulance service sector
- Identification of priorities for
capital investment over a five year period
The solution
In producing an initial Strategy,
Inventures worked closely with Trust estates, collated the base
documentation from the four former Trusts, updated estates data and
assimilated the strategic direction of the Trust and its estate
relative to local and national drivers.
In order to update the Strategy,
Capita Symonds met with key stakeholders within each division to
identify priorities for estate investment to support operational
needs.
We worked with SCAS to identify
prioritised, costed options for estate change, and identified the
impact on backlog maintenance and estate indicators of proposed
investments over the planning period for discussion and agreement
at Board level. This enabled the client to consider all viable
options and have clear pathways for realising their strategic
aspirations set within a realistic context supported by information
and data. This helped SCAS to make evidence-based service and
capital investment planning decisions to deliver a modern and
effective ambulance service.
The benefits
The Estate Strategy will provide the
following benefits for SCAS:
- Premises developments to support
service/capacity requirements and national/Strategic Health
Authority commitments
- An investment plan set within the
constraints of anticipated available capital
- The provision of well located, safe,
secure and appropriate buildings, which will aid staff
retention/morale and support frontline service provision
- A plan for change that enables
progress towards goals to be measured
- A clear commitment to complying with
sustainable development and environmental
requirements/initiatives
- A means of targeting investments to
minimise the risks associated with the built environment
- An opportunity to dispose of surplus
and/or poorly used assets and reinvest released resources
- An opportunity to optimise occupancy
costs
An outcome of the Estates Strategy,
approved in March 2009, is that Capita Symonds was appointed to
carry out an Option Appraisal for the location of the SCAS
Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and business cases for the
reprovision of the Portsmouth and Milton Keynes Ambulance Resource
Centres.