The results show that the management of NHS sites is changing due to advances in how data collection and technology are used to tackle backlogs. However, according to NHS Property Services (NHSPS), while short-term decisions are often required to keep buildings operational, these are not able to provide long-term improvements.
The survey found that:
- 63 per cent of estate leaders identified the ageing infrastructure the biggest barrier to reducing the backlog maintenance.
- 53 per cent of estate leaders identified funding as the biggest barrier.
- 38 per cent of estate leaders identified the scale of the backlog maintenance itself as the biggest barrier.
- 26 per cent of estate leaders prioritise maintaining and improving compliance – legal requirements for estates as well as enforcing best practice standards.
- 25 per cent of estate leaders prioritise reducing the backlog maintenance – there has been a 15.7 per cent increase in the cost of the backlog in a single year; it now stands at £15.9bn – more than it costs to run the entire NHS Estate annually.
NHSPS has published a new guide – Maintaining the NHS Estate – to help estate leaders create the best structure to start to modernise the existing estate and ensure it is efficiently used.
Maintaining the NHS Estate provides estate leaders with practical considerations as to how to reduce their backlog maintenance. It also considers how the NHS commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2040 (and direct emissions by 2045) is reshaping how buildings are operated and upgraded.
The recommends that the condition of the estate be reviewed regularly, pointing out that by releasing capacity and improving utilisation, as well as modernising space, estate leaders can reduce the long-term cost of maintaining their buildings. Finally, the guide states that maintaining a rolling five-year forecast of assets and bringing clinical leaders into the discussions avoids the costs associated with inaction.
Simon Taylor, director of policy, strategy and capital projects at NHS Property Services at NHSPS, said: “Estate leaders are determined to tackle the ageing NHS estate they manage, and their message is loud and clear, they want the tools to help them improve compliance and take advantage of the latest technologies to harness useful data and increase utilisation.
“The NHS already possesses much of the expertise, framework and data required to improve estate performance. The task is achievable; success depends on how decisions are made, how evidence is used and how effectively leaders are aligned from board level through to operational teams. When these are in place, strategy becomes action, leading to better patient care.”