Since its launch just under a year ago, NHS Property Services, the national body set up as part of the healthcare reforms to maintain and improve NHS facilities, has secured efficiency savings of around £30m.
For example, using economies of scale, the organisation has saved £1.2m through the single procurement of gas and electricity.
Since 1 April 2013 it has also sold or exchanged contracts on 34 properties, with a sales value of £24.9m, which are surplus to NHS requirements. A further 70 properties, all of which are currently vacant, have been identified for disposal in 2013/14; with another 100 the following year.
As well as releasing capital for reinvestment in the NHS, this will also save more than £12m a year in wasteful running costs of securing empty properties.
A spokesman for NHS Property Services said: “At auctions in February and March of this year we expect to raise more than £10m from the sale of surplus assets that are no longer needed for patient care and have previously been on the market, some of them for up to four years. This alone will save some £2m in running costs. In the first two auctions all properties sold well above their listed valuations.
“As well as releasing cash for the NHS, some of these sites offer prospects for much-needed housing. In all, our target is to generate 991 housing units over the next two years.”
Also part of the strategy for the year ahead are improvements in the way tenants of NHS properties are billed, the creation of a new model lease; improvements to the capital development programme, and a review of rate charges.
The spokesman said: “We know that the biggest improvements will come in the next two years, as we make best use of our national scale and purchasing power. We have set ourselves a challenging target of 20% efficiencies over the next three years, but is not just about saving money; we are investing in quality and sustainability to do things consistently better.”