Welcome to the latest edition on ‘The Source’
At the time of writing this column I have been reflecting on this year’s Annual conference held in Kenilworth, Warwickshire. The conference has continued to go from strength to strength but I feel that this year there was an almost unique feel and vibrancy to it. I spoke to many delegates and exhibitors and without exception the feedback from them was excellent. I would like to place my thanks on record to the West Midlands for organising such a fantastic conference.
On a more specific point in relation to the conference, we had a number of chief executives who graced the platform and they shared with us the importance that estates and facilities have in the modern Foundation Trust NHS. It was heartening to hear that those at the very top of successful FT’s acknowledging the role our services have in ensuring patient safety, business profitability and the trusts reputation.
This I feel is an important aspect of the conference, which we need to embrace and build upon. Our services sit at the heart of a good patient experience and in a NHS where the consumer is king it is vital that we as estates and facilities professionals continue to improve our standards and quality.
On a seemingly less positive note we also heard from those chief executives (and those from the previous year) that they did not see it necessary to have a director of estates and facilities on their Boards when being asked the question from the floor. I was also asked what HefmA was going to do about the demise of estates and facilities directors.
My response was that those E&F professionals at director level or close to it need to look at diversifying their contribution to the organisation and recognise that pure estates and facilities are not broad enough within a Foundation Trust. It is clear that FT Boards are looking for a more strategic and broader input from directors and therefore HefmA must now consider how we develop our members to step up to this type of role. We cannot simply assume that our discipline has the right of a Board position no matter how important we feel our roles are. Many Trusts now operate estates and facilities at an associate/assistant director level with no place at the Board. It is therefore down to us to step up to the mark and grow into more generalist director roles which some of us have already done.
I hope you enjoy this edition and as always please give us your feedback on the contents.
Kevin Oxley National Chair - HefmA
