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Good practice guide

Asset management in the NHS

Key questions for service providers to ask themselves:

  • Are arrangements set out stating what type of performance information on assets should be provided to the board and when?
  • Are there strategies for equipment, IM&T, vehicles and estate? If yes, was the strategy developed using national guidance and/or other sources of good practice such as the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Public Sector Asset Management Guidelines?
  • Is there a corporate asset management strategy or plan that covers all assets?
  • Does the estate strategy meet the criteria set out in the SGHD Property Management Policy?
  • Are there agreed procedures in place with Community Health Partnerships for gathering data on the independent estate (GPs, dentists, pharmacists and opticians)?
  • Are there procedures in place setting out when and in what way, surveys of the estate will be carried out for condition, statutory compliance, functional suitability and space utilisation?
  • Are the performance measures for assets used by the board comparable with other boards to allow benchmarking?
  • Is there a strategy for backlog maintenance and is this costed and linked into the long-term financial strategy of the board?
  • Can the board identify the split between planned and reactive maintenance?:
    • How does the board’s performance compare to good practice (60 per cent planned vs 40 per cent reactive)?
    • Can the board identify the causes of any weighting towards reactive spend?
  • Does the board have a plan to address any imbalance, and is this signed off by the board?
  • Are there criteria in place for capital investment bids that require:
    • whole-life costing to be considered and set out in business cases?
    • life-cycle maintenance to be considered and set out in business cases?
  • Is there a design action plan in place? If yes, has this plan been examined by Architecture and Design Scotland?
  • Are there design champions in place at both board level and supporting technical level?
  • Does the board have a plan and timetable which sets out:
    • the level of estate compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act?
    • the financial requirements for achieving compliance?
    • the board’s approach to achieving compliance?
  • Are there plans in place to train all estate staff in equality and diversity issues?
  • Are there procedures in place setting out when relevant stakeholders should be consulted and involved, who should be consulted and involved and at what stage in estates projects?
  • Does the board have a strategy for addressing future estate workforce capacity issues?

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