Moving to alternative premises policy

1 Introduction

Moving teams of staff from one building to another involves careful consideration of a number of issues if the move is to be achieved with minimal disruption to both staff and service users. The complexity of the arrangements depends on the type of service moving and the number of staff involved. Whilst there is no specific legislation that is applicable to moving premises, there are legal requirements with regard to ensuring the health and safety of staff involved in the move, ensuring the security of confidential records and making sure that any new premises meet infection prevention and control (IPC) requirements amongst other considerations.

2 Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure staff are aware of the process to be followed when moving to alternative premises. Generic checklists for each stage of the move (pre-move, moving day, post move) are provided in appendices A to C. One of the primary aims of this policy is to ensure that the trust maintains the confidentiality, integrity and availability of personal data in line with current legislation and guidance and that no personal or confidential data or information remains in a vacated premise.

This policy is to be used as an aide memoire by a number of staff including but not limited to; service managers, health and safety team, information governance team and all staff. This policy is intended to be used at various stages during the process of moving to alternative premises, including the planning phase, during and post move.

3 Scope

This policy applies to all managers and trust staff.

Some of the activities associated with this policy overlap with those of other policies and procedures. Specific regulations and guidance apply to these other activities and staff should follow the precautions to be taken in relation to these. It is not the intention of this policy is to provide details of the overlapping regulations and guidance or the related hazards and precautions to be taken.

4 Responsibilities, accountabilities and duties

4.1 Chief executive

The chief executive has specific accountability to ensure that this policy is implemented throughout the trust and effectively assigned, accepted and managed at all levels in the trust consistent with good practice. This duty is delegated to others in the trust.

4.2 Trust board of directors

The trust board of directors has delegated responsibility to ensure that this policy is implemented throughout the trust. This is further delegated to managers and supervisors.

4.3 Information governance team

The information governance team is responsible for advising trust managers and staff in relation to information governance aspects of this policy. This includes advising about the safe transfer of information and data before staff move premises and a post-inspection once premises have been vacated.

4.4 Head of estates and facilities

The head of estates and facilities has responsibility for ensuring that premises in the control of the trust are safe and do not present a hazard to trust staff and others using the premises.

The head of estates and facilities has responsibility for ensuring that all estates and facilities related elements of this policy and checklist are carried out. Some of the above duties are delegated to other managers in estates and facilities teams.

4.5 Health and safety lead or health and safety team

The health and safety lead or health and safety team will advise trust managers or staff on the health, safety, fire and security-related aspects of this policy. This includes a pre-inspection of premises before they are occupied and a post-inspection once premises have been vacated.

4.6 Managers or supervisors

Managers and supervisors have specific responsibilities to ensure that:

this policy is implemented within their area of control and it is brought to the attention of staff
in conjunction with the health and safety team ensure that risk assessments are completed which encompass the hazards and risks associated with any new premises. Staff for whom they are responsible must be made aware of any control measures resulting from risk assessments
monitoring of the effectiveness of existing controls is carried out, and any further measures agreed as a result of risk assessments are implemented
include inspection of the workplace with the trust safety team inspection regime
all accidents and incidents related to the process of moving to alternative premises are thoroughly investigated and use any reports of near misses to determine and address potential hazards and risks
all staff within their control receive suitable information and training in relation to the new premises
any defects to the workplace requiring repair or corrective action are reported to Estates and a request made for the corrective action to be taken. If required, action should be taken to safeguard the area immediately in order to prevent further accidents
line managers are responsible for ensuring staff have access to and understand the information highlighted by this policy and must make sure this is shared by all staff involved in the move to ensure all regulations or policies and Law are complied with and to minimise the risk of an incident occurring

4.7 All staff

All staff have a responsibility to make themselves aware of this policy. Any hazards or risks that they become aware of should be reported to their manager. Staff should also take steps to reduce the risks, such as keeping all areas tidy and removing any obvious trip hazards. All accidents or near misses that occur must be reported via the trust’s incident reporting system, available through the trust intranet site.

All staff are required by their contract of employment to co-operate with the trust on health and safety matters and compliance with the statutory duty to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and others who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work. This includes compliance with this policy and all other trust Health and safety policies. Any action to the contrary may result in disciplinary action or legal action under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974).

5 Procedure or implementation

Consideration needs to be given to a number of factors when moving to alternative premises. The factors for consideration are provided in appendices A and B. Appendix A lists the factors for vacating a premise and appendices 2 and 3 list the factors for moving into an alternative premise.

5.1 Pre-move

Appoint a move co-ordinator who can take charge of the overall process of moving. The move co-ordinator acts as a point of liaison with other employees, estates and facilities, health and safety and any other persons involved in the move. Appendix A provides details of the factors that need to be considered when planning any move to alternative premises.

Where clinical services are moving the trust must inform the care quality commission (CQC) This should be done by contacting the risk and assurance manager, as services are registered to carry out regulated activities only at locations specified in the trust’s statement of purpose (see appendix A).

Guidance to be cascaded to staff pre-move includes:

use suitable packing boxes, ideally with securely fitting lids and which can easily be handled
some removal companies will provide re-usable boxes and it is the move coordinators responsibility to ensure that all boxes are returned to the external provider to avoid any charges for un returned boxes. NHS supply chain boxes are not permitted for moves or storing items
ensure that you have clear concise inventories of what you have packed into which boxes in order to keep track of these items
ensure that boxes are correctly and clearly labelled and also correspond to the inventories for the rooms the boxes will be moved into in the next premise (as applicable)
adhere to the policy for safer manual handling operations when moving boxes and other objects
ensure that items being packed from secure rooms are kept in marked secure boxes within a secure room whilst being stored prior to the move
uphold the integrity of the security of these items at all times
do not leave any items loose next to boxes, always place items inside the boxes
do not leave any boxes in walk ways or obstructing fire exits
do not stack boxes more than four high or overload them so they are excessively heavy
ensure that all records that are for transfer to the new premises are boxed up securely in accordance with the corporate records policy

As per appendix A, the environmental and waste manager will arrange waste disposal on a regular basis in line with waste regulations and the waste policy.

If anyone has any queries regarding waste and which waste stream to use please contact the environmental and waste manager.

The move co-ordinator should inform the facilities team about the date of the move so that arrangements can be made to clean the premises to which they are moving.

The move co-ordinator should inform information governance about the date of the move, in advance of the move in order to receive advice regarding storage, transfer and retention of records or data and to arrange an inspection of the premises.

The move co-ordinator should arrange for the health and safety team, IPC (where relevant) to visit the new building in order to ensure that the building is safe to use and has suitable fire and security arrangements in place.

5.2 Moving day

The approved removal company or logistics services team (for small scale moves and subject to available resources) will move all boxes and furniture on and off the vehicle, and in and out of the building. The team must not recruit non NHS staff to assist in the move unless they have been procured through the trust.

The environmental manager will liaise with the external removal company regarding the trust’s health and safety policy statement and the management and control of contractors policy. This will also include parking appropriately, security, and IPC.

The removal company are to follow the inventories created by the team to show which items are to be put in which room on which floor, cross-referencing the descriptions on the boxes with the inventories.

No visitors to the old or new premises or offices will be permitted on non-essential business. Only the team moving, facilities staff, removal staff, authorised deliveries and invited NHS staff (for example, health and safety, IPC, and environmental manager.) will be permitted to enter with valid I.D. or visitor’s badge. No children or animals will be permitted onto the old or new premise or offices during the move.

Identification badges must be carried at all times whilst on duty as detailed within the security policy, and uniform.

Identification badges must be carried at all times whilst on duty as detailed within the security policy, and uniform and appearance at work or dress code policy.

The security of the old and new premises or offices must be upheld at all times, for example, no doors to be wedged open without constant staff monitoring. The overall responsibility for the security of the buildings at this time will fall to the head of service.

All moves will take place between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday, other than to prevent loss of services that may require moves to be carried out at weekends.

If ‘security guarding’ is required the estates and facilities team will liaise with the guarding company regarding the control of contractors policy. Outside the normal hours of 8am to 4pm the ‘security guarding’ post will be responsible for the security of the site they are situated at and will be answerable to the trust’s security advisor.

Deliveries must be made by the front entrance (or an alternative entrance chosen by staff that is manned at all times by a staff member). Deliveries must be signed for and be checked by a staff member. If a delivery driver needs access to a room in the building, they must be issued with a visitor’s badge, signed in and accompanied by a staff member. If an alternative entrance is required for deliveries this entrance must be secured at all times.

Staff must be inducted into the new environment or building by estates or the head of service.

All keys and fob sets for RDaSH owned buildings should be kept in the building itself ready for the next occupier in an agreed safe location. If the property is a rented property, all keys would go back to the landlord or estates as agreed.

No trust information should be left in the premises to be exited. Records to be retained should be kept securely during the move in line with Information appearance at work or dress code policy.

All moves will take place between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday, other than to prevent loss of services that may require moves to be carried out at weekends.

Staff must be inducted into the new environment or building by estates or the head of service.

No trust information should be left in the premises to be exited. Records to be retained should be kept securely during the move in line with Information.

Governance advice. Ensure that all furniture is checked thoroughly to ensure that documents have not fallen down the back of drawers or under filing cabinets.

5.3 Post move

Ensure all equipment including phones and IT are functioning appropriately, liaising with IT as required.

Ensure that all equipment, data, files, and furniture are accounted for.

The nominated move coordinator is required to ensure fobs, swipes and keys be allocated to staff and signed for. A log must be kept of all allocations for the new building; one copy to be held by the head of service and or team Leader and one by the facilities manager. For the old building they should be handed to the person taking over as per appendix B. Once all have been allocated, updated copies are to be held by the head of service or building administrator.

Ensure that all boxes are returned to the removal company or stores and all other boxes are removed and disposed of appropriately.

During the first week of the move the nominated move coordinator must ensure that all staff have been fully inducted into the new building and are aware of all staff facilities, fire exits, call points, and refuge points. Ensuring all health and safety and fire regulations are explained and provide assurances of compliance to the senior service manager.

In the new premise, the building manager should ensure compliance with the fire safety policy. This includes, but is not exclusive to:

updating the fire manual
instructing staff on the fire safety aspects of the new premise such as fire escapes, alarm points, fire panel and fire safety equipment
assessing and creating new personal emergency evacuation plans for disabled staff and service users
carrying out a fire evacuation drill soon after taking over the premise to ensure that the plans are fit for purpose

Advice can be sought from the trust fire safety advisor.

The estates team will organise a premises inspection (if appropriate). Any issues highlighted will be reviewed by the estates team. A visit may be required by the head of information governance, IPC Team or health and safety team, depending on the circumstances and the team moving.

Ensure that the old premises, where applicable, are secure and appendices A to C are filled out and distributed accordingly. Once the move has taken place, the move co-ordinator must revisit the vacated premises with the landlord (where appropriate) and information governance in attendance, and check that there is no residual data, or other items, still on the premises.

Ensure information regarding relocation is communicated to all necessary groups internally and externally including service users, carers, staff, payroll, and post room other professionals.

Update information governance asset lists related to the move and circulate to IT and information governance representatives.

The senior manager of the team will update the team business continuity plan to ensure that information relating to the location of the team and staff is correct. They will also check that contact information within the business continuity plan for building ownership and maintenance is correct, for example, If transferring to a non-trust site.

They will ensure that staff know the new location of the new hard copy business continuity plan and replace any old versions on the shared drive. The senior manager will also send a copy of the new plan to rdash.emergencyplanning@nhs.net.

5.4 Additional requirement

If there are any requirements additional to this procedure which have not been included, staff must liaise with the estates team.

Access to the previous premise or office will be dependent on the future of the premise or office and its new use (for example, will it be demolished, put up for sale or be re-housing new teams and services?) access will be at the discretion of the appropriate estates or facilities manager.

New occupants of the building will be responsible for completing a new equality impact assessment (EIA).

5.5 Incident reporting

If any items have been misplaced or damaged during the move, these items must be recorded and reported to estates through the estates helpdesk system.

6 Training implications

There are no specific training needs in relation to this policy, but the following staff should be familiar with its contents:

estates and facilities team
health and safety team
care group directors or deputy care group directors
service managers
information governance team

As a trust policy, all staff need to be aware of the key points that the policy covers. Staff can be made aware through team meetings and one to one meetings

7 Monitoring arrangements

7.1 Policy

How: Review of policy against best practice will be undertaken every three years.
Who by: Trust’s security advisor information governance manager.
Reported to: Health, safety and security forum.
Frequency: Three yearly.

7.2 Incidents

How: Review of incidents on Safeguard System as part of the annual incident report.
Who by: Trust’s security advisor information governance manager.
Reported to: Health, safety and security forum.
Frequency: Annually.

8 Equality impact assessment screening

To access the equality impact assessment for this policy, please email rdash.equalityanddiversity@nhs.net to request the document.

8.1 Privacy, dignity and respect

The NHS Constitution states that all patients should feel that their privacy and dignity are respected while they are in hospital. High Quality Care for All (2008), Lord Darzi’s review of the NHS, identifies the need to organise care around the individual, “not just clinically but in terms of dignity and respect”.

As a consequence the trust is required to articulate its intent to deliver care with privacy and dignity that treats all service users with respect. Therefore, all procedural documents will be considered, if relevant, to reflect the requirement to treat everyone with privacy, dignity and respect, (when appropriate this should also include how same sex accommodation is provided).

8.1.1 How this will be met

No issues have been identified in relation to this policy.

8.2 Mental capacity act (2005)

Central to any aspect of care delivered to adults and young people aged 16 years or over will be the consideration of the individuals’ capacity to participate in the decision-making process. Consequently, no intervention should be carried out without either the individual’s informed consent, or the powers included in a legal framework, or by order of the court.

Therefore, the trust is required to make sure that all staff working with individuals who use our service are familiar with the provisions within the Mental Capacity Act (2005). For this reason all procedural documents will be considered, if relevant to reflect the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) to ensure that the rights of individual are protected and they are supported to make their own decisions where possible and that any decisions made on their behalf when they lack capacity are made in their best interests and least restrictive of their rights and freedoms.

8.2.1 How this will be met

All individuals involved in the implementation of this policy should do so in accordance with the guiding principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005).

9 Links to any associated documents

10 References

11 Appendices

Document control

Version: 4.1.
Unique reference number: 188.
Approved by: Corporate policies approval group.
Date approved: 28 December 2023.
Name of originator or author: Head of estates and facilities or health and safety lead.
Name of responsible committee or individual: Chief finance officer.
Date issued: 5 January 2024.
Review date: December 2025.
Target audience: All staff.

Page last reviewed: December 06, 2024
Next review due: December 06, 2025

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