Collect
The Estates Related Information Collection (ERIC) includes information on:
- the number of sites each trust has, and what they are used for – for example acute hospitals or mental health facilities
- gross floor area and occupied floor area
- running costs – such as cost of food, laundry, portering, cleaning and energy costs
- works backlog and investment required to remediate – looking at the money needed where work is required to bring facilities up to standard
- car parking charges
- surplus land – land owned by the NHS but not required to deliver services
Some data is collected at site level and some at organisation level.
Assemble
NHS trust staff use the Estates and Facilities Management Information System (EFM) to submit data to us.
Analyse and interpret
We analyse data to look at the total cost of running and maintaining NHS sites, and separate this data into suitable metrics, for example the cost of electricity or cleaning. Surplus land sites are analysed for potential housing capacity.
Distribute
Registered users of the EFM system can use it to see real time data, benchmark their own sites and run data reports.
We publish the annual Estates Return Information Collection report and the NHS Surplus Land report.
We also produce answers to parliamentary questions, freedom of information requests and other ad hoc data requirements.
Change
Local users can use data to see how they are doing in comparison to other sites and to their own targets, to improve their efficiency, safety and quality. Data is used for:
- local investment planning
- negotiation of contracts
- managing services
Nationally, the collection provides essential information on NHS estates, including:
- safety
- quality
- running costs
This is used by the government and other organisations involved with health and care for a range of purposes, including policy decisions on investment planning and income generation.
ERIC data was used in the Carter review of productivity in NHS hospitals, and now monitors progress against targets set for each provider.
Estates and facilities data is being linked with activity data such as Hospital Episode Statistics, to generate new insights into use of the NHS buildings.
Surplus land data provides information to the Department of Health, the Homes and Communities Agency and the Government Property Unit on sites that can be sold, contributing to the Government Public Sector Land Disposal Programme.
