Pioneering technology is being used to maximise best use of the brand new £9 million Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre.
Citycare will deliver the sensor-led Centre Management service at the East Hull centre on behalf of NHS Hull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Community Health Partnerships (CHP) when it opens in the coming months.
It will support the CCG’s frailty pathway, which has been designed to transform elderly care and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.
The Centre Management service is already in place at all 12 Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) health and wellbeing centres by Citycare and has a proven record of generating savings and efficiencies.
Centre Management helps the NHS make savings by ensuring paid for space, ranging from clinical areas to meeting rooms, is well utilised using sensor technology and costs are recovered from the appropriate service provider.
Previously, the NHS was responsible for estates costs, as measures were not in place to apportion costs appropriately.
Caroline Havler, Head of Estates Management at Citycare, said: “The Centre Management service enables the bookable elements of the Hull LIFT estate to be managed as flexible space.
“This means the commissioner (Hull CCG) and the landlord (CHP) retain control and are able to accommodate new and changing services, rather than service providers being tied into long leases in which there is lack of control even if the space is not being used efficiently.
“The Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre is unique in its offering anyway, but this is taking it another step further to ensure the space is best used at all times.
“Working in partnership means we have been able to come up with a flexible estates solution to make sure every inch of the site is utilised and it can be adapted to meet changing needs.
“Health and community services are coming together under one roof and we are putting solutions in place to ensure best value for money.”
The Shared Space bookings system, provided as part of the Centre Management service, enables recovery of costs up to a value of £1.6m per year.
Through the provision of new space at the Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre and the conversion of void space in the existing health centres, bookable space has increased by 70% across the Hull LIFT estate.
In 2017, £908,916 worth of bookings were recorded.
Lesley McGregor, CHP’s Regional Property Director for the North, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Citycare who will provide the Centre Management services at the new Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre.
“The service facilitates the provision of a flexible estates solution on behalf of NHS Hull CGG and space utilisation technology will be used to monitor usage levels, encouraging efficient use.”
Lesley Windass, Head of Transformation at NHS Hull CCG, said: “The Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre will be the hub for the redesigned community frailty pathway, taking pressure off the hospital by managing patients in an integrated and planned way closer to home.
“We are pleased to have the support of CHP and Citycare in providing us with a flexible building to deliver this service from and a space which can accommodate the developing pathway requirements.”