How Can We Increase Capacity and Develop NHS Facilities?
A recent study published by the King’s Fund highlighted the opportunities that could flow from the NHS becoming more strategic in its use of land and property assets. The current issues noted included buildings that were not flexible enough to meet changing needs, over-costly administration buildings, dilapidated and expensive to maintain buildings, and over-specialised facilities that are only used for a few hours a week.
A strategic estates review would consider how buildings can be managed more cost-effectively, how underutilised assets can provide income to fund developments, and how resources could better support the creation of more flexible facilities to meet broader community needs, including social care.
The Case for Collaboration
The paper points out that property management isn’t a core function of the NHS and that collaboration with organisations that have the required expertise could help deliver long-term value and sustainability.
When looking at the effective use of land assets, car parking is often a good (but not always the obvious) place to start. Much of the existing car park provision is surface level only and represents a highly inefficient use of land.
Adding one or two extra parking decks would reduce the footprint needed for parking and free up land that could be used for new, more flexible clinical facilities. Alternatively, you could create lower-cost administrative accommodation and repurpose existing office buildings. In some cases, adding additional parking would simply improve the experience for visitors and staff.
Sustainable Estate Management
It’s likely that many trusts will have ideas for the types of buildings they will need in the future. What may be less clear is a viable route to providing those buildings. More efficient land use opens up opportunities for sustainable estate management strategies.
Creating new, more modern buildings onsite could allow less suitable land and buildings to be sold or leased for redevelopment. Rethinking car parking could be the key that unlocks the process. This brief video explains how.
Adding parking decks is much simpler than you might imagine. The Osborne, in partnership with Siderpark modular system uses a steel frame and needs no foundations. It can be installed quickly and built in sections to progressively release land to house the modern facilities many hospitals need.
The sorts of multifunctional buildings that modern construction methods can create could be used for key worker accommodation, reablement care, or converted into emergency wards for future pandemics or health emergencies. New buildings will be easier to maintain and cheaper to heat than ones that have been in service for decades, leading to further cost savings in the longer term.
More effective land use could also generate funds to develop community health facilities and improve opportunities for revenue generation.
If your hospital site has a significant area of surface level parking, talk to us and we’ll help you explore opportunities to put that land to more productive use. You can find out more by visiting our resource centre.
