The Need For Ownership, Not Papering Over The Cracks & Kicking The Can Down The Road

Lets look at NHS England versus GP surgeries and the demand for constant reports and consultations. Are they just kicking the can further down the road, without addressing the real issue of inadequate properties?

Instead of addressing the publics’ issues, NHSE are adding more consultation, more planning demands, slow rent reviews and constantly steer further away from having a solid plan in place.

 

Painting A Picture

Lets look at a scenario. NHS England owns a GP rented surgery that is seriously substandard. This was previously an office building converted into a surgery, over 20 years ago.

The GP practice has been wanting a new surgery for the past ten years. The NHS agrees to commit £2.5m from the Transformation Fund to deliver suitable facilities. So through the CCG, they now find that the money can only be used, not on creating a new surgery, but to refurbish the existing property. So the money from the Transformation Fund is to be spent on a worn out non suitable building.

The surgery has limited parking, the opportunity to deliver the correct facilities are just not available.

Disabled access is poor and the rooms are not easy to adjust for current demands for room sizes or for expansion in future years (a true test of value for money). However NHS England want their property asset to be increased in value with the creation of a new lease in place for the GPs to sign up to.

The location and space is just not adequate and is a travesty in terms of use of the Transformation Fund expenditure to manipulate the system bully the GPs just to get an NHS England property asset value increase. It has nothing to do with value for money for the public or delivery of services delivery for the public. How would the DV sign this off, but then of course NHSE involved at this level, I wonder if the DV will be involved at all!

 

Planning Within The Community

There needs to be a sense of ownership, strategy and planning in the community and not papering over the cracks and this is obviously in collusion with the CCG. Where is the true value for money that we have to strive for.

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the NHS budget will need to increase by £88 billion over the next 50 years, in order to keep pace with the rising demand for healthcare, according to projections.

Having the money to create a new facility is not the solution alone, nor is keep taking money from the Transformation Fund in sizeable amounts to have many different consultants to tell GPs what they already know. If these consultants budgets were allocated for another nurse, that makes more sense than more consultant reports.

 

Rounding Up

Lets address the value for money property delivery, not continue kicking the can down the road and moving from tactic to tactic to appear to be doing something and continually wasting our money.

There is no definitive answer, but a case of addressing the issues that affect people and property delivery that stands the test of time.

Lets have that chat. Call Jon on 01202 744990 or email jon@jkwproperty.co.uk