ESTATE MANAGEMENT
‘Going back to the basics’ to secure savings for the NHS
Mark Smith, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at NHS Property Services, explains how the company has been able to make valuable savings that are reinvested into the NHS.
NHS Property Services (NHSPS) owns approximately 12% of the NHS estate. Our portfolio is one of the largest in the UK, comprising approximately 3,000 properties with circa 7,000 tenants across England. We manage, maintain, and improve properties ranging from listed buildings through to state-of-the- art integrated health campuses. We put customers at the heart, and work closely with our partners to create safe, efficient, sustainable, and modern healthcare environments, so that every patient can get the care they need in the best place for them. The strain of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt by all parts of the UK healthcare system. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spent £33.8 bn on COVID-19 related costs in 2021/2022, representing nearly 20% of the total spending for that period. The post-pandemic recovery plan also promises additional funding to address built-up backlogs and tackle long waits for care. On top of the COVID-19 recovery, there are wider pressures on the NHS to meet the waiting list priorities outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan.
Constantly looking for ways to innovate
As part of the NHS, we live and breathe these priorities, and are constantly looking for ways to innovate and collaborate with our NHS colleagues locally, regionally, and nationally, to support the delivery of the Long-Term Plan and help the NHS transform. Making sure we drive value and efficiency across the NHS estate, whilst maintaining safe and compliant facilities and delivering quality, sustainable services is a key aspect of our strategy. For 2020/21, we had a savings
target of £32.9 m. As Chief Financial Officer at NHSPS, I am proud to say that at the year end, we exceeded this target, and achieved savings totalling over £50 m, which has allowed us to mitigate inflation. I would like to share with you some of the ways in which we achieved this, and how we are now using these savings to benefit those who
18 Health Estate Journal April 2022
NHSPS’s London site, St Charles’ Centre for Health and Wellbeing in Exmoor Street, has benefited from LED lighting upgrades, creating a more energy-efficient building.
are most important to us – our customers.
Making the estate fit for purpose We continue to expand our ‘Healthy Places’ programme. This focuses on the delivery of projects that enable improved health and social care, helping the NHS get the most from its estate and drive better outcomes for patients, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan. Through estate optimisation, property management, and business alignment, we will reduce financial liabilities for the NHS. For example, this will mean removing some £100 m of backlog maintenance liabilities, and saving millions
in running costs for our customers. Creating efficiencies across the NHS
estate can be done without the need for selling or completely rebuilding a site. Re-development to serve a better purpose brings more gains, and can be financially effective. So far, we have overseen a 20 per cent increase in capital investment, which has resulted in improvements to NHS sites across England. For example, this included the
development of a community hub at Guisborough Primary Care Hospital on Teesside, which now provides much- needed services to the local population.
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