Tailor-made services for the Spitala in Fribourg for 25 years. The changes taking place in Swiss hospitals are enormous. The rising demand for outpatient services, the shortage of skilled staff and cost pressures require ongoing adjustments and optimisations in operations. To ensure that the limited number of nursing staff can focus on patient care, ISS offers healthcare institutions bespoke support services – such as those provided within the network of the Fribourg Hospital (HFR).
The HFR Hospital in Fribourg is at the heart of the cantonal healthcare system. To ensure that residents in all parts of the eighth-largest canton have good access to medical care, the HFR operates a coordinated hospital network with facilities at four locations. The hub of the network is the HFR Fribourg Cantonal Hospital, which provides a comprehensive range of medical services for all health needs. The three regional sites - HFR Meyriez-Murten, HFR Riaz, and HFR Tafers - cover outpatient care in the region, among other services; they also specialize in rehabilitation and have a number of beds for internal medicine. Approximately 100,000 residents of Fribourg use the outpatient and inpatient services each year. ISS has been supporting the HFR in this demanding hospital operation since 1999.
Targeted Use of Outsourced Services
To efficiently manage a decentralized organization with diverse hospital infrastructures, operators often face the question: Make or Buy? The HFR has opted, in part, to purchase services. To this end, ISS has developed a customized concept that primarily supports the regional hospitals: ISS provides maintenance and specialized cleaning services at two locations as well as in some of the cantonal hospital’s office buildings. Other services are tailored to the needs of each specific location.
At HFR Meyriez-Murten and HFR Tafers, for example, ISS handles bed cleaning, meal and laundry transport, and waste management. At HFR Meyriez-Murten, ISS handles room service and the cleaning of the therapy pool, while at HFR Tafers and HFR Riaz, it manages garden and grounds maintenance. Martina Fässler, Key Account Manager for Healthcare at ISS Switzerland: “With our integrated FM approach, we offer healthcare institutions tailor-made solutions. Thanks to our broad expertise and large pool of staff, we can deploy skilled workers in a targeted manner - which is particularly beneficial for complex specialized tasks that would otherwise tie up significant resources at healthcare institutions. This relieves the burden on hospital staff and gives them the freedom to focus on their core mission: patient care.”
“Thanks to our broad expertise and large pool of staff, we can deploy skilled personnel in a targeted manner, which is particularly beneficial for complex specialized tasks that would otherwise tie up a lot of resources at healthcare institutions.”
Martina Fässler, Key Account Manager Healthcare, ISS Switzerland
Working Hand in Hand on Room Service
Collaboration also works well for complex processes such as room service. The role of ISS employees is to advise and assist patients in selecting their meals. The hospital nursing staff specifies which type of diet has been medically prescribed. At least three times a week, the ISS room service team visits patients to take their meal requests. ISS records the orders using a digital ordering tool; the order is automatically transmitted to the kitchen, where it is printed as a meal ticket. The nursing staff delivers the meals themselves. The ISS team, in turn, assists the nursing staff by delivering beverages, tending to the flowers, and cleaning the rooms. Stefanie Schärer, ISS Account Manager at HFR: “We really work hand in hand with the nursing staff here. To ensure that everything runs smoothly, we coordinate very closely every day.”
Another prerequisite for smooth service is having qualified staff. In room service, employees must respond to patients’ requests, which requires empathy and tact. In addition, German and French are mandatory in the bilingual canton of Fribourg. Stefanie Schärer explains: “Room service is a very personal service with little standardization. Our employees have to check the meal orders in the system every day. You have to stay focused so that nothing gets overlooked.”
“We really work hand in hand with the nursing staff here. To ensure that everything runs smoothly, we coordinate very closely every day.”
Stefanie Schärer, Account Manager, ISS Switzerland
Commitment Builds Trust
Stefanie Schärer took over as project manager in 2021, when the HFR adapted its collaboration to meet the hospital network’s new needs. “Getting started at the HFR Tafers took time. We had to build trust through strong performance. Thanks to positive results, we are now accepted and have a trusting partnership with the HFR.” Together with her site managers and the 44-member team, she oversees day-to-day operations across all locations. In addition, Stefanie Schärer is responsible for hygiene standards, monthly employee training, and regular quality controls. Close communication with the ISS site managers and the HFR hospital staff is essential for efficient and safe operations. “It’s important to me that I always have the big picture and that I’m on site when there’s an emergency,” she says.
Relief in Day-to-Day Operations
Over the course of their 25-year partnership, the HFR has entrusted ISS with new services. Flexibility, a quick response to customer concerns, and practical solutions are the keys to this successful collaboration. “For example, we were able to get a ward up and running within a few days. When there were short-term staffing shortages in the kitchen, we pitched in at the food line.” Acting independently and proactively significantly lightens the load for hospital staff in their day-to-day work. This frees up capacity, which is especially important given the current shortage of skilled workers. For Stefanie Schärer, one thing is clear: “We’re very well integrated into the HFR today. It’s important to feel like we belong. That motivates us and helps us navigate the complex workflows and processes every day.”
ISS SWITZERLAND: Healthcare
ISS has been serving the healthcare sector in Switzerland for over forty years and has more than 200 clients and 1,000 employees in this field. The range of services is tailored to the needs of healthcare institutions and includes a wide array of support and service solutions such as routine and deep cleaning, bed cleaning, specialized cleaning (infrastructure), transportation (laundry, meals, waste), kitchenette management, room service, building services, landscaping, and winter maintenance.