Asset management in the NHS in Scotland
Transcript of podcast interview with project manager Kirsty Whyte

What’s this report about?
The NHS has £5 billion worth of assets and effective management of these assets is central to good patient care.  This report examines how the NHS is strategically assets such as buildings, land, vehicles, medical equipment and IT equipment. We look at 3 main areas in the report:
•	whether the management of assets is effectively supporting patient care
•	at what direction the Scottish Government gives to health boards to help them manage their assets
•	and we look in particular, at how well the NHS manages its estate and achieves value for money from its estate.
What have you found?

Effective management of assets is central to good patient care but not all health boards can clearly show how patient care is driving the way they manage their assets.
Health boards and the Scottish Government need to collect better information on assets to help them monitor performance and make sure assets are supporting patient care.  While health boards have basic information on their assets, they do not all actively measure their performance.
We found that there has been and continues to be significant investment into NHS assets, with the Scottish Government putting in £3bn between 2003 and 2011.  This is helping health boards to redesign and improve assets, in particular, health care facilities such as hospitals.
Land and buildings make up most of the value of NHS assets. We found that the estate is in satisfactory condition, but about a third will need major upgrading in coming years.
The Scottish Government is responsible for developing policies and guidance to help health boards manage their assets.  However, the Scottish Government does not have up-to-date policies and guidance for all assets and there is limited monitoring of the way health boards manage their assets.  The Scottish Government also needs to work on stronger monitoring of capital investment projects.
Some work has been undertaken at a national and local level to develop joint approaches to the way the NHS and councils manage their estate.  The Scottish Government and health boards now need to build on this to make sure the public gets the most out of the significant investment in assets.
What is the impact of this on the public, why is it important to them?

The NHS has £5 billion worth of assets and effective management of these assets is central to good patient care.  
From how easily you find your way around a hospital to whether your operation is on time, these are all affected by the way assets are managed.
Effective design and use of assets such as buildings, medical equipment and vehicles can improve the delivery of healthcare by ensuring the right assets are in the right place at the right time, are well maintained and suitable for their purpose.
What do you want to see happen as a result of your report?

We have made a number of recommendations in our report aimed at both the Scottish Government and NHS bodies that we think would improve the way the NHS manages its assets. I’d like to highlights just a few of these:
•	NHS bodies should develop strategies for each type of asset which link with their clinical strategies
•	NHS bodies should review the information they collect on their assets and how they assess the performance of assets
•	the Scottish Government should provide up-to-date guidance and policies on all types and assets and ensure these are updated to reflect changes in the NHS and new health policies
•	and finally, the Scottish Government should ensure that work being done on asset management across the whole government is coordinated and good practice is shared across the sectors.