Communities to benefit from NHS property disposal policy

NHS Property Services has developed a new policy that will see proceeds of disposals from surplus buildings and properties within the NHSPS estate shared with local health economies.

Through this policy, 50 per cent of the net proceeds from property disposals of up to £5 million will now go to local health economies for reinvestment. These proceeds will support the development of key schemes within the NHSPS estate, at the Integrated Care Systems (ICS) level. Previously, proceeds were pooled nationally and split between regions for reinvestment. NHS Property Services says that 50 per cent will continue to be pooled this way, and reinvested across the country to fund priority building improvements.

The policy will allow for greater local engagement on potential disposals, as NHSPS’ regional teams work closely with ICS to develop plans for reinvestment, meeting the healthcare needs of local patients and wider communities.

As part of this announcement, NHS Property Services also committed to applying the reinvestment to property that was handed back for disposal since 1 April 2020, enabling more schemes and communities across the country to benefit.

Martin Steele, chief executive of NHSPS, said: “This new policy is a significant announcement and will benefit the way in which we serve customers and patient communities. Ensuring healthcare economies across the country can reinvest proceeds in important local schemes is an affordable approach within existing capital budgets and will support the NHS in meeting its objectives set out in the Long Term Plan. The past twelve months have been some of the hardest in the NHS’ history, and by backdating this new policy we hope to provide even more benefit to the healthcare system and support the optimisation of the estate post-Covid.”