Key metrics
37
years supporting mental health estates
18
facilities maintained across Birmingham
4
partners aligned through governance
Overview
Amey delivers integrated facilities management services across the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust estate through a long-term partnership with the Trust, Healthcare Support (Erdington) Ltd (HSEL) and Vercity.
Operating under a 37-year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, we support 18 specialist mental health facilities, including acute inpatient units, psychiatric intensive care units, dementia services and rehabilitation accommodation.
As service requirements and estate needs evolved, all partners recognised the need to move beyond a traditional client-contractor relationship. Addressing patient safety challenges, future lifecycle planning and service improvement required closer collaboration between operational, clinical and commercial teams. By introducing a partnership-led approach built on shared accountability, transparency and joint decision-making, we have strengthened governance, improved visibility of risks and priorities, and created a more resilient operating model that supports high-quality mental health care.
At a glance
- Amey delivers integrated facilities management services across 18 specialist mental health facilities for Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.
- We maintain critical healthcare environments including acute inpatient units, psychiatric intensive care facilities, dementia services and rehabilitation accommodation.
- Our partnership model brings together clinical, operational and commercial expertise to support shared decision-making and patient outcomes.
- Through collaborative innovation, we help address patient safety challenges, including ligature risk management and digital service improvements.
- Our long-term approach to governance and lifecycle planning helps improve resilience, transparency and value for money.
Aligning partners across a complex mental health estate
Mental health estates present operational challenges that extend beyond traditional facilities management. The Trust’s estate includes secure facilities, acute inpatient environments, dementia services and rehabilitation accommodation, each with specific safety, compliance and operational requirements. Changes to the built environment must support clinical outcomes while maintaining continuity of care.
Like many long-term PFI arrangements, governance had historically focused on contractual performance, financial outputs and compliance measures. While effective from an assurance perspective, this approach could limit opportunities for innovation and collaborative problem-solving.
At the same time, the Trust faced increasing pressures around patient safety, ligature risk management and future estate planning. Addressing these challenges required a more integrated approach that combined operational expertise, clinical insight and commercial governance to support informed decision-making and long-term value.
Building collaboration around shared outcomes and accountability
We worked with the Trust, HSEL and Vercity to redefine how the contract was managed. Rather than operating within organisational silos, all partners committed to a delivery model centred on shared accountability, transparency and patient outcomes.
A key milestone was a review of contract performance measures and governance arrangements. This led to regular quarterly partnership forums that created space for open discussion, collaborative decision-making and shared ownership of actions, risks and priorities. These forums helped align operational performance with clinical requirements and commercial objectives.
We embedded this approach through several practical initiatives:
- Shared governance, reporting and record-keeping provide greater visibility of performance, risks and future priorities across all organisations.
- Joint procurement and market testing enable partners to shape specifications, assess suppliers and make informed investment decisions collectively.
- Collaborative innovation projects include anti-ligature door monitoring systems and the Synbiotix patient catering platform.
- Future-focused lifecycle planning considers clinical requirements and technological advances rather than replacing assets on a like-for-like basis.
By combining clinical leadership from the Trust, governance and commercial oversight from HSEL and Vercity, and our operational delivery capability, the partnership supports informed decisions that balance safety, compliance, service continuity and value for money.
Improving safety, service delivery and long-term value
The partnership has created a more responsive and resilient operating model that better supports service users, clinical teams and the Trust. Decisions are now shaped by shared outcomes rather than organisational boundaries.
- Shared governance forums have improved visibility of risks and priorities, enabling faster issue resolution and stronger accountability across partner organisations.
- Joint safety initiatives have supported the Trust’s response to ligature risks, contributing to a reported reduction in incidents and increased confidence among ward teams.
- Collaborative procurement and benchmarking have strengthened value for money through transparent decision-making, open-book working and independent validation.
- Service innovation projects have enhanced patient experience through improved catering systems, safer environments and operational efficiencies.
- Future-focused lifecycle planning has improved long-term resilience by aligning estate investment decisions with evolving clinical and operational requirements.
The most significant outcome has been the transformation of the relationship itself. What began as a traditional PFI arrangement has evolved into a mature partnership built on trust, transparency and shared accountability. This collaborative culture has strengthened decision-making, enabled innovation and created a stronger platform for continuous improvement. As the contract progresses towards eventual handback, the partnership demonstrates how public and private sector organisations can work together to improve safety, service quality and long-term value across a specialist healthcare estate.