Social value at the heart of GCS Imaging Replacement Programme at RFH
The Social Value team at NHS London Procurement Partnership (NHS LPP) has been supporting the GCS Imaging Replacement Programme, led by Logan Construction, at the Royal Free Hospital in Camden, part of North Central London Integrated Care System (NCL ICS), to ensure that the project delivers social value to the local area.
Social value is about securing social, economic and environmental benefits from public procurements and delivering impact for people, places and the planet. It is particularly impactful when targeted towards relevant or local priorities.
Project background
The GCS Imaging Replacement Programme aimed to provide additional capacity in diagnostic imaging for the trust’s imaging department. The existing imaging equipment, comprising of one MRI, three CTs and three X-rays reached their operational life expectance and needed to be replaced.
The new works involved a refurbishment to the existing rooms to facilitate the new equipment, as well as an upgrade to the external and ancillary spaces within the imaging department. Due to the scale of the project, the procurement team identified an opportunity to generate wider benefits for the community through the use of social value in the tendering process for the contract.
After submitting a successful tender for the project, Logan Construction were awarded the contract with social value commitments to promote mental wellbeing, provide employment opportunities, and to utilise the local supply chain by purchasing supplies from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) based in Camden.
Promoting mental health in the construction industry
Construction workers are nearly four times more likely to die by suicide than the national average. In 2021, the last time the ONS released statistics broken down by industry sector, 507 construction workers took their own lives.[1]
To address this issue within the sector, Logan Construction made commitments to invest in mental health campaigns for staff. Logan Construction organised workshops to support both direct and subcontracted employees to be delivered by their Mental Health First Aider. The event was aimed to help staff understand more about mental health, learn about triggers, identify further sources for support and to foster a positive working environment towards employee welfare.
Logan Construction also put together a Wellbeing Strategy Action Plan. The plan outlined a range of initiatives used to support wellbeing within the organisation and on the contract. This demonstrated a strong wellbeing culture within the organisation and outlined how the workshop fitted into the broader support systems that Logan had established, including an ‘open-door’ policy with the wellbeing team for staff to walk-in for support as needed.
Employment opportunities for the local community
In its Health and Integrated Care Strategy, NCL ICS highlighted that it is the second-most-deprived ICS in London, with areas of deprivation often in close proximity to areas of affluence. More than 1 in 5 people in NCL live in the 20% most deprived areas nationally. These inequalities often result in worse health outcomes, which Camden’s Health and Wellbeing Board aims to tackle by focusing on good work and employment as a key driver to improve the social determinant of health.
Logan Construction was able to contribute to this priority by employing four local residents as a social value initiative, with one of those employees stating: “It is nice to work at a local hospital and input into a project that could at some time benefit my family and friends.”
One of the jobs created by Logan Construction was a carpentry apprenticeship role, highlighting their commitment to developing individuals to gain new skills and creating lasting career opportunities. The apprentice stated: “I am very happy to have the opportunity to be learning carpentry skills with Logan Construction. The on-site experience I have had is very helpful for me.”
Monitoring travel to combat air pollution
Air pollution is the largest environmental threat to public health in the UK, and up to 4,100 premature deaths in London each year are attributable to air pollution exposure. In Camden, particulate air pollution is responsible for 7% of all deaths.[2] Camden Council has outlined their ambition to create a borough in which no person experiences ill health as a result of the air they breathe.
Additional to their contract commitments, Logan Construction kept a record of their employees’ travel to work, including whether they used public or private transport and how many miles they travelled. This recording demonstrated that a number of staff travelled by public transport to work on the site, reducing the overall impact on the local air quality around the hospital as a result of the contract’s activities.
This demonstrated progress on ensuring that data for carbon emissions resulting from staff travelling to work was captured. This gave the organisation the ability to understand their carbon footprint, as well as the trust more visibility on how they are contributing to local ambitions for air quality.
Supporting the local economy with SME spend
Logan Construction’s commitments to spend locally also contributed to a reduction of carbon emissions by reducing the transit distance associated with the delivery of supplies. Logan Construction spent £92,314.66 within the local supply chain, meaning more money circulating in the local economy and strengthening business diversity.
As part of the London Anchor Institution Network, NHS London has pledged to increase its annual spend with SMEs. Strengthening SME’s access to the supply chain in this way is key to building wealth in communities. This collaborative approach in procurement projects demonstrates the wider benefits that can be achieved for local communities when NHS organisations work with suppliers to generate social value.
Tony Kemp, Contracts Director at Logan Construction, said: “We were happy to find ways to create social value in the delivery of this project and knowing that we contributed towards local priorities and made an impact is an added bonus. Providing an apprenticeship opportunity to a local resident was a particular highlight. The support from NHS LPP in managing the social value was really positive and will benefit us in the future when bidding on public sector contracts.”
Jordan Knights, Social Value Manager at NHS LPP, said: “It’s fantastic to see Logan Construction and the Royal Free Hospital prioritise social value throughout this project and to hear of how this has benefited those involved. We have enjoyed working productively with the team at Logan, being on hand with support and expertise to ensure value goes back into the local community.”
Have you got any questions?
If you’re interested in finding out how our Social Value team can support your trust, please don’t hesitate to contact us by emailing socialvalue@lpp.nhs.uk.
01/10/2024