Serco signs £600m contract with Barts Health

Barts Health NHS Trust has awarded a £600 million contract to Serco Group plc for the provision of Soft Facilities Management Services.

Barts Health NHS Trust, which operates from four major hospital sites at St Bartholomew’s, The Royal London, Whipps Cross and Newham, is the largest NHS Trust in England serving a population of 2.5 million people and employing 16,000 staff.

The Trust has an annual turnover of £1.4bn and last year its staff delivered over 16,500 babies, treated about 167,000 individual in-patients, dealt with more than 455,000 emergency cases, and hosted more that 1.5 million out-patient appointments.

The signed contract has an estimated total contract value to Serco of approximately £600 million over the maximum 10-year term; the initial contract period is for seven years, with the corresponding value for this initial period to be reflected in Serco’s order book, and the contract can be extended for a further three years on the mutual agreement of Serco and the trust.

The contact determines that Serco will be responsible for the provision of: cleaning and domestic services; linen and laundry; patient catering; portering services; car parking; reception and helpdesk; and other non-clinical general management and support services.

It is hoped that bringing all the services under a single contract will deliver consistent, high-quality services that will improve the patient experience and the working environment for all trust staff, also providing efficiency gains to the trust which will help fund future patient care.

Serco will also provide services to the East London Foundation Trust (ELFT) at the Mile End site which is recognised as a centre of excellence for mental healthcare.

Rupert Soames, Serco Group chief executive, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the trust to give essential support to their ambition of transforming the health of East London residents by providing world class, patient-centred care. NHS providers face unprecedented demand and high service expectations with restricted funding.

“Serco has extensive experience in developing solutions that put the patient first, achieve the highest care standards and deliver sustainable quality and cost reduction. We therefore look forward to this important expansion of our Health business and we will do our utmost to ensure a safe and positive experience for every single patient, visitor and member of staff on all Barts Health sites.”