Since 2001, the NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (NHS LIFT) has brought together private and public sectors to deliver primary healthcare and community facilities via long term joint venture investment partnerships. LIFT buildings are delivered by private investors (who design, build, finance, and operate the assets, taking all building performance risk) working in partnership with Community Healthcare Partnerships (CHP) – the government owned company that holds a 40 per cent stake in the assets and which operates as the local head tenant.
Having secured £2.5bn of private investment against £100m of public money, NHS LIFT has delivered 350 new healthcare buildings across England, with nine in every 10 LIFT buildings being in areas with above average health needs.
Due to the building performance risk being transferred to the private sector, LIFT buildings do not have the backlog maintenance challenges of other NHS-owned estate, and have been independently reviewed to demonstrate value for money against traditional NHS estate and commercial lease arrangements.
The government’s 10-Year Health Plan stated that hundreds of new neighbourhood health centres would ‘build on the successful NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust programme’. The existing NHS LIFT estate is already playing a key role in supporting the delivery of neighbourhood health and the government’s plans for ‘three big shifts’ across the NHS: from hospital to community; from sickness to prevention; and from analogue to digital.
Sarah Beaumont-Smith, chair of The LIFT Council, said: “NHS LIFT has supported the delivery of neighbourhood health for 25 years and offers a vital building block as we now look to deliver a neighbourhood health service fit for the future. At the heart of LIFT’s success has been partnership working between the private and public sectors – as the government and NHS now look to new partnership models in health delivery, the experiences and lessons learned from NHS LIFT will be crucial in shaping the next wave of neighbourhood health services.
“As we look back on 25 years of the NHS LIFT programme, I look forward to joining partners from across the healthcare sector to celebrate this important milestone, and to look ahead to the vital role the LIFT estate can continue to play in future.”
CHP CEO Wendy Farrington-Chadd added: “CHP is proud to play its part in the success of the NHS LIFT programme, working together with NHS organisations and private sector partners to invest in facilities that support local communities. This anniversary is not only a chance to celebrate what has been achieved, but also to recognise the lasting value of long-term partnership in delivering high quality healthcare infrastructure. As the NHS continues its shift towards neighbourhood health, CHP remains committed to ensuring the LIFT estate continues to support local services, patients, and communities for the future.”