The NHS is facing a tough future financially and has been for a long time; ICBs – having been asked recently to deliver a 50% cut in running costs – will be looking very carefully at how they continue to provide excellent patient care and reduce their outgoings.
The three shifts the government wants to achieve for the NHS will need the NHS estate to be adaptable to change to support new models of care such as neighbourhood hubs. Furthermore, empty and underutilised spaces will need to be transformed to support cutting-edge diagnostics and health services to prevent ill health.
Part of our role at NHS Property Services is to help ICBs and Trusts to make the most of the estate they have – this will be crucial as budgets get tighter in the future.
We own 10% of the NHS estate and have produced a Guide based on practical experience for estate leaders to advise how buildings can be used more efficiently and deliver better value for money whilst maintaining patient care at a high level.
Our long-term goal is to establish more efficient, more collaborative, and sustainable ways of working so that estate leaders can get more out of the space they have and reduce their costs.
Our research shows that space in NHS buildings can be as low as 40% underutilised and a lack of comprehensive data can impede how efficiently this is managed.
Almost nine out of ten of the estate leaders we surveyed said they had low (32%) or medium (55%) understanding of how the space across their estate is being used.
And 41% of estate leaders have told us they do not have the budget to look at vacant space and its use, while more than a half (55%) said they do not have the ’in-house capacity to manage change to spaces and deliver’ to optimise the space they have. That is where NHS Property Services can assist.
We have the experts to support ICBs and Trusts so they can identify and optimise good quality long-term estate. It is only by knowing the possibilities of the existing estate that local community demands will be met delivering both excellent patient care and value for money. One valuable tool NHSPS has created is NHS Open Space, first launched in 2016.
Open Space is a digital platform which provides the NHS with booking and analytical tools as well as expert support and guidance to healthcare specialists so they can efficiently use their existing rooms and oversee who they are being used by.
NHS landlords can then better manage the space they have in their buildings and make use of and better analyse underutilised space.
Property is often one of an organisation’s biggest expenses; the NHS has more than 10,000 buildings spanning an estimated 25 million square metres. A strong focus on revitalising the existing estate is crucial in delivering an NHS fit for the future.
Case Studies
Three GP practices and a community services provider in Belmont Health Centre needed more space for their 20,000 (and growing) patients. NHSPS held the headlease, which had 30% vacant space at a cost of £110,000 per year to North West London ICB.
We helped the ICB unlock £1.6m of capital to reconfigure and refurbish the building, increasing consulting rooms from 24 to 29, providing a new reception and colleague facilities and improving accessibility. Now there is no vacant space, overall costs for the NHS have been saved, and more patients can be seen.
Crocus GP surgery needed to relocate as their lease on their long-term home was due to expire, and the listed building they resided could not be adapted to support the growing population.
We relocated them to an empty wing of nearby Saffron Walden Community Hospital and used other underutilised space in the hospital.
This tripled the amount of space the practice had to see more patients. And improved access to a range of services for patients in one central, modern health hub.
Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) was reliant on a manual room booking process which meant spaces were not being booked efficiently. For example, clinical spaces were being booked for full-day sessions, even when only an hour was needed.
We onboarded GMMH’s bookable space onto NHS Open Space. This drove 21% cost efficiency through increased space utilisation and 32% cost savings.
Find out more about NHSPS’s guide to estates optimisation here.
