Dedication of Western Health staff ensures new agreements deliver cost benefits

Western Health has benefitted from more transparent pricing, a reduced administrative burden and better access to service providers after transitioning to HSV’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and building services – trades agreements.

The HVAC and associated services agreement provides health services with a panel of suppliers to service and maintain heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, chillers, boilers, HEPA air filters, water testing and treatment.

Under the building services – trades agreement, health services can access suppliers for electrical installation, plumbing, painting and decorating and building repairs and maintenance in the metropolitan Melbourne area.

Western Health’s Business and Workforce Operations Manager Margaret Oraha says transitioning to the new agreements has had a positive impact across their health services.

“The agreements have allowed us to reassess how we manage our facilities. The new processes and reporting standards for service providers create more transparency, enabling us to see if we’re being billed correctly.

Before, we had no way of verifying whether we were being charged appropriately because only the incumbent supplier fully understood the equipment and how much time the work required.”

Margaret says the move to the HSV HVAC agreement enabled Western Health to streamline operations.

"We are working towards reducing the number of suppliers servicing our chillers and coolers by 60 per cent," she says.

"Previously, different suppliers handled different components like pumps and filtration, which caused accountability issues. Now we will have a single supplier responsible for everything, enabling faster, more efficient service and greater accountability."

Margaret says it was thanks to the Health Support Services contract team at Western Health that they were able to successfully navigate such a major change.

"Our team quickly embraced the new approach and has been fully committed to making the transition a success. The support from the HSV team, who met with us regularly throughout the process, has been outstanding," she says.

HSV Director Customer Engagement Alfred Matthews says Western Health and HSV worked closely together to transition to the agreements.

“The Western Health team played an integral role in the success of this transition, ensuring the long-term sustainability and efficient operation of the organisation’s facilities. Their collaboration with HSV has been key to the success of this project.”

Alfred says health services that engage with HSV for support throughout the contract transition period can expect to experience similar benefits and cost savings.

“We’re committed to helping health services realise those cost benefits. It’s a lot of work to implement these changes, particularly in a larger health service like Western, but we can save more by working together,” he says

Under the terms of the HVAC agreement, suppliers must complete a full audit of the health services' assets, which Margaret says is a significant benefit for Western Health.

"It's a huge relief to be able to rely on these audits, especially because our suppliers were never accountable for asset audits before. Having that assurance gives us peace of mind," she says.

HSV Director of Customer Engagement Alfred Matthews said the agreements offer health services an opportunity to access verified experts without the administrative burden.

“Health services can also expect a greater cost benefit in the long term when their facilities are being properly maintained,” he says.

HSV’s eligible services customers have also expressed an interest in accessing the HVAC contract with procurement and facilities management staff from eight eligible services attending recent online information sessions.

Please contact your Customer Relationship Manager or Customer Access Manager for more information or to request an invitation to an online information session.

Above image: Business and Workforce Operations Manager Margaret Oraha with the Health Support Services contract team at Western Health.