Lead Supplier to the NHS Estates Technical Standards and Guidance Programme, UK
Archus is delivering the multi-year NHS Estates Technical Standards and Guidance Programme, providing best practice guidance on the planning and design of healthcare buildings across the primary, secondary and tertiary estates.
The NHS Technical Guidance publications set standards and provide guidance for the design and operation of high quality, safe care environments and considered best practice not only in the UK, but in healthcare systems around the world. Archus are committed to bringing further innovation to this already successful programme working alongside NHS teams and an exceptional range of partners.
Katie Wood, Programme Director
Guidance for future healthcare projects
Archus is proud to continue as Lead Supplier to the NHS Estates Technical Standards and Guidance (TSG) Programme, following our reappointment through to 2027. This multi-year programme sets the benchmark for healthcare estate design and engineering across the UK, ensuring environments that are safe, sustainable, and future-ready. Well-designed healthcare buildings not only support patient recovery and well-being but also enhance staff performance and retention, improve operational efficiency, and deliver better value for money across both capital and whole-life costs
NHS England produce and maintain a suite of over 100 guidance documents as part of the National NHS England Estates and Facilities Management (EFM) technical standards and guidance (TSG) programme. The programme aims to ensure patient care is delivered in a clean, safe, secure, suitable and sustainable environment; a sentiment echoed in the NHS Constitution.
The documents are available free of charge and disseminated via the .gov.uk website (see HBNs and HTMs). Providers of NHS services use this guidance and associated tools to demonstrate that they meet the essential requirements of the regulators and adopt healthcare industry best practice.
End-to-end delivery
Through this appointment, NHS England benefits from the certainty that we will deliver best-in-class technical standards on time and within budget.
As a Lead Supplier, we provide an end-to-end service that spans:
- Technical authoring and publishing
- Agile project management
- Comprehensive stakeholder engagement
Our approach is built on:
- A dedicated team with deep expertise in technical publishing, supported by an international network of subject matter experts.
- Access to the most qualified and capable array of expertise in the industry, ensuring guidance reflects cutting-edge best practice and innovation.
- Effective communication at every level, engaging: Clinicians, patients, and staff, Royal Colleges and professional membership organisations, health estates managers and specialist engineers (e.g., ventilation), and the wider community of interest.
What has been delivered
Over the course of the programme, Archus has delivered major milestones that have shaped the future of NHS estates guidance:
- NHS Net Zero Carbon Building Standard – published in 2023, setting the benchmark for sustainable healthcare estates.
- Updated Health Building Notes (HBNs) and Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs) – covering design, engineering, fire safety, infection control, and sustainability.
- Technical Bulletins (NETBs) – enabling rapid updates on critical topics such as water safety and ventilation.
- Comprehensive stakeholder engagement – hundreds of clinicians, estates professionals, Royal Colleges, and specialist engineers consulted.
- Innovation pipeline – shaping guidance for emerging trends including digital health, modular construction, and AI-driven smart estates.
Set the standard for healthcare excellence.
Partner with Archus to shape national guidance that drives safe, sustainable, and future-ready NHS estates.
