PROPERTY STRATEGY
JB: “How flexible have local authorities been in terms of adapting existing planning guidance and procedures to allow ultra-fast construction of temporary healthcare facilities?” AP: “Modular buildings give a certain amount of flexibility, which has been recognised by the Government through the provision of COVID-related relaxations in town planning. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has issued the planning guidance for local authorities to allow flexibility in use of property to respond to the pandemic, including for modular buildings. “This flexibility has allowed for temporary emergency development to be undertaken by a local authority or health service body, enabling the creation of temporary buildings to address COVID-19 without the need to submit a planning application. These relaxations have made it easier for people to use modular or temporary buildings where required, creating a streamlined response to this crisis throughout NHS facilities, and ensuring that the required space for all patients has been made available.
Relaxing of measures
“The Government is continuing to issue relaxations to facilitate the provision of health services, but also to restart the economy. There are a number of planning relaxations that aren’t necessarily directly related to healthcare, but still would be helpful for a property company like us with 3,000 properties that we need to manage, and we are therefore proactively tracking and reporting on Government announcements and subsequent changes to town planning policy. There could be ways that we could operate our portfolio that would bring some advantage to our NHS partners – for example relaxing 'change-of-use' applications when we are preparing vacant sites for sale.”
JB: “What wider lessons do you think NHSE / NHSI and NHSPS might learn about the optimal utilisation of the NHS estate in the wake of COVID-19?” AP: “COVID-19 has made our teams increasingly aware of the importance of understanding the space that we have available, and who is occupying it. Ensuring that space is being used in the most efficient way can enhance the healthcare services for members of the community around these spaces. While none of us could have predicted this pandemic, what it has shown is that ensuring that space is being used efficiently is instrumental to the NHS’s running – from building a clear picture of how the estate is being used, to securing funding for improvements, to
implementing solutions. Ensuring we have an up-to-date and detailed record of our estate usage will be of even higher
32 Health Estate Journal September 2020
One of many COVID-19 ‘drive-thru’ testing centres to have been set up in recent months.
importance as we hope to move forward from this crisis, and we are proactively working with our customers to gather this information.”
JB: “How difficult – looking ahead – is it to plan medium to longer-term strategy for primary care building provision given that the pandemic has shown that remote GP consultation does ‘work’ for some patients, but that, equally, there will still always be a need for face-to-face appointments, both for practical purposes – for instance for minor procedures, and so the vital GP/patient relationship is maintained?” AP: “COVID-19 presents a significant opportunity to review and alter clinical service strategies and models – with one element being whether GPs continue to do most of their patient consultations by video, or revert to face-to-face consultations. This is important, as it will have an impact on current properties, how they operate, and how they are configured, as well as on new or redeveloped properties planned for the next several years.
“It is our impression that while video consultations will make up a significant proportion of GP and hospital appointments moving forward, they won’t by any means fully replace face-to-face appointments. We will be working closely with our NHS partners to better understand patient and staff requirements that will shape clinical strategy, which will then unlock guidance for subsequent estate strategies. As we continue developing our understanding for how the space we currently occupy is being used, we can determine the effect it has on design, specifications, and Clinical Commissioning Groups, to ensure the best care for patients within the community.
“Because of this, we must be very
flexible in terms of the design proposals that we are bringing forward to local planning authorities. We must maintain momentum for the development programme, while also ensuring that it is flexible enough to meet changing clinical service requirements.”
hej
Adrian Powell
Adrian Powell leads the in-house multidisciplinary Property Development and Town Planning teams at NHS Property Services (NHSPS). These teams work to deliver quality new healthcare environments, realise latent potential value, and release land for new homes from the NHSPS estate. Adrian Powell has built a reputation over 30 years in real estate capital markets, development, asset management, and occupier services, delivering several of the largest urban regeneration and retail projects.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92