DH's future estates 'agenda' set out

In response to the enactment of the Government's Health and Social Care Bill, and following a 'period of transition' in the Department of Health, the NHS Estates and Facilities Policy Division has outlined an 'agenda' that sets out its key responsibilities and functions as the health service enters a new era. HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, met with Peter Sellars, the Division's new head of profession within the DH, to talk through the agenda, and discuss how the Division will work with, and support, estates professionals going forward to ensure that patients continue to receive care in high quality, clean, safe, fit-for-purpose buildings. The Division's new 'position' within the Department follows an 18-month consultation which identified what stakeholders including healthcare estates and facilities professionals, Institutes and trade associations, and Royal Colleges, felt were the sector's most pressing issues over the next 5-10 years.