A new National Fleet Support Unit (NFSU) is being launched in Scotland to maximise fleet acquisition, utilisation and operating efficiency across the 10,500 vehicles serving the NHS.

NFSU will be fully operational from August with an initial team of five people led by Michael Jackson, who oversaw the review of NHS Scotland fleet management operations, including his own 1,450-strong Scottish Ambulance Service.

The review’s aim was to identify synergies from greater fleet management collaboration between the 22 health boards across Scotland, without compromising operational effectiveness and ultimately achieving best value.

The shared service approach across the entire NHS Scotland fleet, which has a vehicle replacement value of £226 million with annual expenditure of £62m, will deliver “considerable financial savings” and benefits in terms of efficiencies, effectiveness and economies of scale, said Jackson.

The decision to create a national NHS unit follows the move by Scotland’s police forces and fire services, which both merged their eight operating regions when forming Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue respectively in 2013.

Historically, each NHS board had its own fleet management operation, with little evidence of collaborative working, other than the use of some central procurement contracts, which included leasing, fuel cards and insurance.

That will now change with the NFSU delivering a “more effective and efficient use of NHS Scotland fleet and car leasing resources and service improvements”, according  to Jackson.

It will also ensure “consistent governance and resilience is embedded” across the fleet function with the ability to “adapt and respond to a changing health and social care environment”, he added.

Jackson, who assumes the new role of general manager for NHS Scotland National Services Scotland (NSS) NFSU, is recruiting a national fleet manager, fleet engineer, fleet systems/administration manager and fleet administrator.

Further administration staff will be recruited incrementally to become a team of nine by the end of 2017/18.

NFSU will be based in Lanarkshire and provide support to NHS Boards through five regional fleet management operations. The regional operations, which are currently being formed, will be supported and guided by the NFSU.

In practice, a lead NHS Board will provide the fleet management function for each region and will be responsible for ensuring all fleet requirements are met.

The regional fleet managers, line managed by the lead NHS Board, will form part of a national fleet management team, coordinated by the NFSU, to ensure that collaborative opportunities are fully explored and executed.

However, vehicles will continue to be operated by the local boards and meet individual board requirements.

One of the first tasks of the NFSU will be to introduce a national fleet management system which will be utilised by all 22 NHS Boards and will replace 10 existing systems.

Reducing road risk will also be key. Central to that will be the implementation of a telematics system. It is planned to go out to tender in May/June. Presently, about eight of the 22 boards have fitted telematics systems, from a variety of suppliers, to about 900 vehicles.

Other key benefits from creation of the NFSU are expected to include: improvements in the utilisation of staff and vehicles; improved journey and mileage management, delivering fuel savings; standardisation of vehicle specifications; and joint national procurement and vehicle maintenance.

Jackson, a former Fleet Van fleet manager of the year winner, was previously general manager of the Scottish Ambulance Service, before being seconded to the Scottish Government’s NHS shared services programme to undertake the review of the fleet management operation.

He said: “NHS Scotland requires a fleet structure that is flexible and resilient and has an appropriate skills mix in order to maximise service improvement, efficiencies, and ensure the operation is responsive to its future needs.

“Investment in the establishment of a National Fleet Support Unit, together with the procurement of fleet systems, will ensure that agreed management and engineering duties, currently undertaken many times at NHS Board level, are carried out once nationally and consistently for NHS Scotland.”

The national strategic function operating at best-in-class standards would, said Jackson, “reduce variation and deliver efficiency savings for future investment in frontline patient services to support local fleet operations”.