Chorley-based children’s hospice Derian House has appointed Eric Wright Facilities Management as its FM partner, in a move designed to help ensure the highest standards of property maintenance and compliance..
Providing palliative care and respite to children and young people with life-threatening illnesses and life-limiting conditions, Derian House supports around 275 families across the North West and provides bereavement support to a further 200.
The charity approached Eric Wright Facilities Management for support with a mandatory compliance audit, resulting in a facilities management contract designed to help the hospice leverage maximum value from its estates, its employees and its supply chain through operational best practice and an effective building management and maintenance strategy.
The contract builds on a long-standing relationship between Eric Wright Group and Derian House, which has seen the property and construction company support the charity through fundraising, in addition to delivering numerous projects on site.
The latest scheme to be delivered by the firm at the Hospice’s Chorley site is a new Donation Centre completed by Eric Wright Special Projects in December 2016. Maintenance for the Centre is in addition to the Eric Wright Facilities Management contract.
Eric Wright Facilities Management’s engineering manager will complete the full compliance audit, reviewing all policies and processes for managing the building and a report of the internal and external fabric of the building to identify priorities for planned preventative maintenance, reactive maintenance and operational cost management, which the team will also manage.
The contract also includes general property management support and guidance and the Eric Wright Facilities Management team has already developed a quality management process that will be used to ensure ongoing compliance and best practice, upskilling the existing Derian House team to ensure that the charity derives sustainable value from its investment.
Kate Bailey, Senior Business Development Manager from Eric Wright Facilities Management, said: “We understand the third sector and the need to not only work within restricted budgets but to be accountable for every penny and ensure that all money invested in FM services results in a tangible return.
“We are particularly close to Derian House and this latest contract builds on a relationship that goes back many years. We’re delighted to be seeing positive outcomes from the programme already and look forward to delivering real value that will help the charity continue to make savings in the future.”
In addition to the contracted activities, Eric Wright Facilities Management has also been advising Derian House with pro bono fleet management advice and support as part of its ongoing CSR programme. Derian House has been working with the Eric Wright Group’s fleet team to review policies, review driver competency and documentation checks and audit vehicles used for work by employees.
Georgina Cox, CEO of Derian House, added: “As a charity that relies on donations to provide vital services, spending some of that revenue on external providers is always a carefully considered decision.
“Eric Wright Group has always offered us excellent quality and genuine value in the past and we are already starting to see the benefits of our new contract with Facilities Management in terms of maintenance savings, compliance, operational efficiency and staff development. We look forward to experiencing further return on investment as the contract continues.”
