Department of Health and Social Care
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New One-Stop-Shop for Healthcare Facilities
A new single technical guidance website for providers of healthcare facilities was announced today by the Department of Health and the three UK health organisations – Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for Northern Ireland, Health Facilities Scotland, and Welsh Health Estates.
The new website ‘Space for Health’, linked to the Department of Health’s website, will bring together a whole suite of guidance (including Health Technical Memoranda, Health Building Notes and other information) into one online resource for all those involved in the procurement, management, design and planning of healthcare facilities, including NHS and non NHS providers.
Users will be able to seamlessly shift between different pieces of guidance, and will be able to access nation-specific information, depending on whether their project is in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
It has been developed following an extensive three-year consultation period, including stakeholder events and evaluation of a pilot website.
The healthcare community will be able to take a first look at the system at the IHEEM Healthcare Estates Conference, 27-28 October 2009. The UK health organisations are encouraging people to come and try out the website on stand C55.
Health Minister, Mike O’Brien said:
“This brings together all the guidance in one easy to access website.
“’Space for Health’ goes one step further in providing region-specific information on procurement, management, design and planning of healthcare facilities. I am pleased to launch this website on behalf of all the UK health organisations.”
The website will be available after the conference at: http://www.spaceforhealth.nhs.uk. ‘Space for Health’ will replace the current system, the Knowledge and Information Portal.
Notes to Editors
1. People involved in healthcare building projects include: estates and facilities managers, NHS facility commissioners, architects, engineers, healthcare planners, and construction professionals.
2. Health Technical Memoranda provides guidance for the design, installation and running of specialised building service systems.
3. Health Building Notes gives advice to project teams designing and planning new buildings and adapting/extending existing buildings.
4. Users will be able to read the material on screen and any printing carried out will be on demand.
5. Older guidance will continue to be available within the system’s document library in its present PDF format.
6. For more information please contact the Department of Health press office on: 0207 210 5221.
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk
