Estates Design and Technical Services

Estates Design and Technical Services (EDTS) is a small, dedicated design team within the NHS whose primary role is to provide NHS Trusts with estates, design, and technical advice. The strong team consists of a mix of architects, surveyors, technicians, and engineers who carry out projects from feasibility through business case, design, client/user, sign off, tendering, on site supervision, handover, and commissioning. The team will also work alongside the client to cover equipment selection and the various finance and board updates for larger projects.

EDTS was formed in 1989 when the District Works Department was disbanded, and NHS Trusts came into being. Starting off as part of East Berkshire NHS Trust and in a further reorganisation, moved to Berkshire Shared Services who were formed to provide in-house services to the PCTs as part of Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BHFT).

In the last re-organisation in 2013 EDTS became part of BHFT Estates and Facilities following the disbandment of Berkshire Shared Services. The workload has unpredictable elements. The length of time for approve of the NHS Capital Programme, the political weight behind change, modernisation and efficiency and the unexpected emergency failure or just too much weather, are challenges to which we respond providing design, management supervision and advice where the NHS meets the construction industry to support better healthcare. For some clients we provide strategic planning, Development Control Plans, and project base healthcare planning. For others, we mange the capital programme ensuring that the work is designed and built within set financial envelopes. This work various in value from £5k to £250k for major building repairs, minor alterations, and plant replacement.

Additionally, we undertake large scale projects, new outpatient departments, refurbishment of life hospital environments and infrastructure upgrades to name a few. These projects vary in cost between £1-£6 million. EDTS work where it is invited to, for a variety of reasons – from one off to whole programmes or multi-phased projects. We have worked at Hillingdon, Stoke Mandeville, South Central Regional Health Authority, Berkshire Healthcare and NHS PS Ltd.

We have reputation of tackling difficult projects that have failed to be resolved by others or appear too complex in their make-up to be tackled by practices outside of the NHS.