New guidance from NHS England gives us more detail on how estates will fit into the neighbourhood health ambitions and while the big headlines are on the new build Neighbourhood Health Centres the number one priority is first using existing estate better.
But what does this mean for your surgery premises? The new guidance states that “across the country, there are over three million square metres of primary care and community care estate. Some of it predates the founding of the NHS and is not best suited for providing modern patient care – and needs to be decommissioned and disposed of”.
That creates both an opportunity and an expectation: practices may increasingly need to demonstrate that they are using space efficiently, supporting neighbourhood working, and enabling more services to be delivered “under one roof” where appropriate.
Future-proofing
Using space well also helps future-proof your practice. In some cases, that means investment and adaptation, and in others it may ultimately mean decommissioning or repurposing. It very much depends on the premises, the plan locally and the partnership’s appetite for risk. Either way, understanding your premises position now puts you in a better place to respond when local plans accelerate.
Some practices are actively investing—using available funding routes (such as Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Grants) to extend or reconfigure premises to support more services. Others may prefer to take a longer view, recognising that their building may need a different use in future and planning accordingly (including considering tax and ownership structure).
Sharing your premises
If you are looking to share your premises in any way it is vital to understand your ownership structure and the best way to document any sharing or tenancy arrangement. You are likely to need consents (always from the Integrated Care Board but also from your landlord or lender as relevant). If you are owner occupier having proper terms in place for any third-party occupier also helps to protect your long-term investment.
Final thoughts
Making better use of existing GP premises is likely to be a central part of neighbourhood health delivery for some time. Understanding your existing property interest and what you can and cannot do with it means it is easier it is to move quickly when the local plans are established and the right opportunity arises.
We recently explored these issues in more depth in a webinar with BW Surveyors, focusing on how GP practices can optimise existing premises to support neighbourhood health delivery. The recording is available to watch.
If you would like support navigating these changes or maximising the use of your surgery premises, please contact Jennifer Lewis.
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