Today saw the release of the Lord Darzi report an independent investigation of the NHS in England.
I was pleased to see that Lord Darzi recognised the impact of the healthcare care estate on patients and staff and I welcome the call for primary care capital reform. As Chair of the British Property Federation’s Healthcare Committee I know this is something that many in the NHS and private sector are agreed and it is timely that the committee’s latest report was also released this week
Building healthy futures: Strengthening our healthcare estates looks at both primary and secondary care, setting out the importance of estates in our healthcare system, and how we can use estate to deliver the NHS’ vision.
Ensuring that the NHS has the buildings it needs to deliver care closer to people’s homes and keep people out of hospital where possible, and to provide access to high quality, modern health services when they do need care and treatment, is vital to the sustainability of the health service.
Over many years, the core fabric of the NHS has been crumbling, with huge backlogs of repairs needed across hospitals and GP surgeries, but little funding available to address this.
In this environment, there is an important role for private capital to play, supporting NHS estates delivery and maintenance while alleviating pressure on public finances and supporting sustainability goals.
I welcome the focus on primary care which has long been the forgotten foundations of the NHS and I hope as the committee report states that all stakeholders can come together to deliver an NHS estate that is fit for the future.
Jonathan Murphy, CEO
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE