Health technical memoranda
Technical standards and guidance (health building notes/health technical memoranda documents)
The documents have moved and can be accessed from this section of our website.
Standard Department of Health and Social Care website protocol is to mark documents as ‘withdrawn’ as part of the redirect to our website. We are aware that this message on the gov.uk website is creating the impression that individual health building notes (HBN) and health technical memoranda (HTM) documents have been withdrawn. This is not the case – all the documents hosted on our website are current.
The status of a document can be checked on the complete list of publications related to NHS estates page of our website which includes details of any documents that have been updated/archived and the dates this took effect.
This series brings together all documents relating to Health technical memoranda.
Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs) give comprehensive advice and guidance on the design, installation and operation of specialised building and engineering technology used in the delivery of healthcare.
The focus of Health Technical Memorandum guidance remains on healthcare-specific elements of standards, policies and up-to-date established best practice. They are applicable to new and existing sites, and are for use at various stages during the whole building lifecycle.
Healthcare providers have a duty of care to ensure that appropriate governance arrangements are in place and are managed effectively. The Health Technical Memorandum series provides best practice engineering standards and policy to enable management of this duty of care.
The ProCure23 Framework is the recommended procurement method for publicly-funded capital projects over £1 million. The Principal Supply Chain Partners have developed a number of repeatable room arrangements for use in NHS Acute and Mental Health facilities, all of which are fully compliant with HBNs and HTMs.
You might also be interested in the health building notes document series. Or you may wish to view a complete list of NHS estates related guidance past and present.
Documents
- Health Technical Memorandum 00: Policies and principles of healthcare engineering – 1 April 2014: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 02-01: Medical gas pipeline systems -1 May 2006: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 03-01: Specialised ventilation for healthcare premises – 22 June 2021: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 04-01: Safe water in healthcare premises – 10 April 2017: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 05-01: Managing healthcare fire safety – 24 April 2013: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 05-02: Firecode – Guidance in support of functional provisions (Fire safety in the design of healthcare premises) – 4 November 2015: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 05-03: Firecode – Fire Safety in the NHS – Operational provisions – 1 August 2008: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 06-01: Electrical services supply and distribution – 11 April 2017: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 06-02: Electrical safety guidance for low voltage systems – updated 11 October 2023: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 06-03: Electrical safety guidance for high voltage systems – updated 11 October 2023: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 07-01: Safe and sustainable management of healthcare waste – updated 7 March 2023: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 07-02: EnCO2de 2015 – making energy work in healthcare – 25 March 2015: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 07-03: NHS car-parking management: environment and sustainability – 3 December 2015: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 07-04: Water management and water efficiency – best practice advice for the healthcare sector – 20 March 2013: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 07-07: Sustainable health and social care buildings – 20 March 2013: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 08-01: Acoustics – 19 March 2013: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 08-02: Lifts – 3 June 2016: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 08-03: Bedhead services– 19 March 2013: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 67: Laboratory fitting out system – 1 January 2005: Guidance
Decontamination HTMs
- Health Technical Memorandum 01-01: Management and decontamination of surgical instruments (medical devices) used in acute care – 8 July 2016: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 01-04: Decontamination of linen for health and social care – 9 June 2016: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 01-05: decontamination in primary care dental practices – 26 March 2013: Guidance
- Health Technical Memorandum 01-06: Decontamination of flexible endoscopes – 30 June 2016: Guidance