Achieving the shift from hospital to community, as set out in the Prime Minister’s three big shifts for healthcare, (alongside analogue to digital and sickness to prevention), and the creation of neighbourhood health services as set out in the Government’s 10 Year Health Plan, have substantial implications for the NHS estate.
Whilst mention of estates and facilities are largely absent from ‘Fit for the Future’, (the 10 Year Health Plan) those providing facilities services and managing healthcare estates, such as HEFMA’s members, are acutely aware that to deliver on the Government’s vision is going to require reconfiguration of existing estate as well as developing new facilities away from the hospital site.
It's an opportunity for reimaging the healthcare estate and how services are provided that is both exciting and challenging.
How to do it
In a new briefing, NHS Confederation has drilled into some of the key obstacles that stand in the way of achieving such transformation of the estate, as well as the innovation and new ways of working that will help the NHS to deliver. It recommends changes around capital, planning regulations and how good practice is shared will be necessary.
Here's a summary of the NHS Confederation’s recommendations:
• Simpler process for accessing capital funding
• Expansion of the ‘head lease’ model
• One nationwide formula to calculate NHS capital requirements
• Changes to the Planning Act 2008 and the Town and Country Planning Act 1990
• Incorporating current examples of good practice into the neighbourhood health centre programme
• Decision-making over services and leveraging investment is best done at local level rather than centrally.
Above everything, changes to the estate will need to be done at pace, if Sir Keir Starmer’s target that the majority of outpatient care will happen outside of hospitals by 2035 is to be met.
The conclusions and recommendations listed in the NHS Confederation’s briefing were informed by input from NHS leaders and specialist healthcare property investor and developer, Assura.
HEFMA will be looking at this issue in more detail in forthcoming issues of our Pulse magazine.
