Benenden Hospital - A Case Study
The Project: Asbestos survey and management for a multi-building hospital
Benenden Hospital is an award-winning private hospital in Kent that provides consultations, diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of specialities. Having worked with Asbestos Limited for many years, we are proud to say that when it became necessary to carry out a complete review of their asbestos management, Benenden Hospital entrusted us with the job of simplifying their live asbestos management plan.
Read a Benenden Hospital blog with an update from Rob Farris, Estates & Hospitality Manager at Benenden Hospital about the real value gained from partnering with us.
Background - Benenden Hospital
This private hospital in Kent offers high quality services and a wide range of specialties all delivered by specialist consultants supported by compassionate, caring, and experienced staff and delivered in ultra-modern facilities. It is the only private hospital in Kent with an Outstanding CQC rating.
Benenden Hospital is a centre of excellence for hip and knee replacement, is the largest provider of private varicose vein (EVLT) treatment in England and the top provider of cataract surgery in Kent and Sussex.
The work undertaken
Benenden Hospital had asbestos management surveys carried out annually, with hard copy and electronic records available going back to 2009. Whilst the Estates team had many years of in-depth site knowledge and experience, trawling through large lever arch folders every time they were planning works was not good time management. There had also been various documented re-inspections and abatement works (asbestos removal by licensed contractors) since 2009, so it made sense to have a full management survey of the site carried out, to get a current picture.
From this, we were able to set up an easy-to-use Asbestos Management Plan (AMP) that they are able to update as a live document. It was lovely hearing, “We get it now. It has made things so much easier.”
A challenging project for Asbestos Limited
It was rather challenging for all involved as the site is now managed by three different departments. Rob Farris, Estates & Hospitality Manager, manages the live working hospital site, whereas Benenden Health, based in York, the parent Company, manages the remaining currently redundant buildings on site, with a letting agent working for Benenden Health managing the on-site tenanted properties.
Getting to the bottom of who did what was a challenge for us - Rob knows the site so well, it was sometimes like another language!
Words from Rob Farris, Estates & Hospitality Manager
"We have worked with Asbestos Limited for many years and they are our preferred contractor at Benenden Hospital.
"I have no reason to look elsewhere. The attention to detail and accuracy is second to none and we all understand the importance of compliance in this really rather scary arena. I always say the 'A' Word strikes fear into the (with respect) uneducated in terms of Asbestos Regulations. Debbie and her team at Asbestos Limited are very easy to deal with and extremely professional to the nth degree.
“I can now go to our Health and Safety meetings comfortable in the knowledge that I am fully informed, up to date and happy to talk about our Asbestos Management Compliance - Surveys and the Ensuing Asbestos Management Plan with complete confidence and give this assurance to the Board. That is so important to me and our organisation.”
Asbestos Limited - providing unrivalled industry insight
We like to help people with anything to do with asbestos, but preferably nothing else. Having been an HSE license holder for over 30 years, our clients value our industry insight into how best to approach Asbestos Containing Materials (ACMs) that are identified on site.
If ACMs are in good condition and a risk assessment confirms that it is safe to do so, most of the time it is better to manage them in situ, rather than disturb them to remove them. Should the risk assessment require remediation work be carried out, we can help you review quotes, to ensure you are comparing apples with apples.
We can also arrange any air testing that may be required following remediation work, to ensure that there is no conflict of interest by the remediation company appointing the analyst for the air test themselves.
When you can’t see the wood for the trees, (or even the asbestos register for the paperwork), we can help simplify your process to enable the administration of your Asbestos Management Plan to become easy and effective. Please get in touch and let us see how we can help you.
And to sum up, some words from Asbestos Limited's Managing Director:
I can’t stand waste, be it time, money, effort or landfill. I will always put myself in the shoes of the client, work out what I would need to do to make the job more efficient and then use my industry experience in how to most cost effectively achieve this. All my clients know me for this.
Debbie Hales
