Strategic Approach to Facilities Management in the Healthcare Sector
By Ts . Dr Hj Mohd Khairolden Ghani Dr Ihfasuziella Ibrahim Construction Research Institute of Malaysia
Ir . Dr Zuhairi Abd . Hamid Independent Consultant
FEATURE
It is timely to plan a strategic approach in Facilities Management in line with medical and healthcare needs . To be strategic , it should be consolidated as a core service comparable with other core businesses .
The COVID-19 pandemic stirred up a long debate about the new normalcy . It has taken a long time for industry to cope . The healthcare sector is one of the pressing agencies crippled by the pandemic for the past two years . Readiness of facilities management ( FM ) in healthcare is one of the biggest challenges during a pandemic and often it receives the most brickbats .
According to ( Pillay 2002 ), the development of FM in Malaysia started in the second half of the 1990s . The Government has played a major role in the development of FM in Malaysia . In 1996 , the Government privatised the non-critical support services in Government hospitals to three FM companies . It was indeed the biggest FM contract by the Government at that time . It also marked the beginning of a new era of FM in Malaysia . In February 2001 , during the opening of the Kuala Lumpur 21 Convention and Exposition , the then Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia , in referring to the state of FM in the country , emphasised that unless Malaysians change their mentality to become more aware of the need to provide good services and improve the upkeep of buildings , we will forever be a third world country with first world infrastructure . From the above statement , Malaysia needs to put greater focus and emphasis on the development of FM particularly in public health sector .
Issues and Challenges in Facilities Management In the Health Care Sector
Facilities Management is the management of multi-disciplinary activities to ensure continuous functionality of the built environment by linking and integrating people , places , processes , and technology ( CIDB , 2010 ). Based on research data derived from frontline FM practitioners and healthcare staff , the key issues and challenges faced in the healthcare sector encapsulate people , processes , places , technology , and financial categories with their respective challenges ( Zuhairi et al ., 2021 ). Table 1 shows the challenges faced by people , processes , financial and technology .
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