Since 2009 the NHS has already halved the amount of its accommodations that is unused but still has property the size of London’s Hyde Park just standing idle.
The survey by EC Harris calculates that the wasted space in the NHS estate is equivalent to 157 hectares. It says that 12.8% of the NHS estate that is “functionally unsuitable”.
Conor Ellis, author of the report and health sector leader at EC Harris, said: “Trusts should be planning strategically to look at long term savings.”
He said: “The NHS has improved year-on-year, however all organisations should be cognisant of the opportunities presented through cost-efficient estate facilities management and procurement. In the decentralised NHS world, this means collaborating with other trusts, local authorities and other parties to form partnerships not only to improve outcomes and risk, but to clearly reduce cost via scale and standardised performance.”
This is the fourth annual report into the efficiency of the NHS estate that has been published by EC Harris. This year’s report is titled ‘Delivering better healthcare outcomes more efficiently’.
The report recommends greater standardisation, collaboration with neighbouring trusts and the use of new operating models.
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