NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has released a new NHS Estate Optimisation Guide to help NHS leaders and estate managers navigate one of the most pressing challenges in modern healthcare: making the most of the places and spaces that support patient care.
The NHS Estate Optimisation Guide, now freely available to NHS professionals, has been developed in direct response to findings from NHSPS’s recent Space Optimisation survey.
The survey revealed significant gaps in estate management across the NHS:
- Nearly nine in ten NHS leaders reported low to medium awareness of how their estate is currently being used.
- Over half lack the comprehensive data required to make informed, strategic decisions.
- One-third of respondents cited insufficient capacity to implement meaningful changes.
The new guide sets out a clear and flexible framework for assessing space demand, property supply, and utilisation, as well as weighing up options for estate transformation, cost savings, and reinvestment.
The new guide sets out a clear and flexible framework for assessing space demand
Simon Taylor, Director of Estates Policy, Strategy & Capital Projects at NHSPS, said: "Estate optimisation is now critical to meeting patient need and NHS reform. This guide provides NHS leaders with the right practical steps to unlock the full potential of their estate, using the expertise and knowledge of the property experts across NHSPS and the wider system."
The estate’s role in enabling healthcare transformation has taken on added significance as the NHS works to meet evolving population needs.
The Government’s forthcoming NHS 10-Year Health Plan is expected to address how healthcare environments, from high street drop-in centres to digitally enabled diagnostic hubs, must adapt to ensure services are delivered in spaces that are flexible, sustainable, and truly fit for purpose.
Estate optimisation is now critical to meeting patient need and NHS reform
Drawing on specialist input from NHSPS’s in-house teams and wider sector partners, the guide includes contributions from Jenny O’Donnell, Infrastructure, Capital, Estates, and Sustainability Lead at NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, and Vissy Plati, Senior Designer at Ryder Architecture.
NHSPS’ Simon Taylor added: "Simply better understanding current space utilisation can often lead to transformative estate opportunities. In some cases, buildings thought to be in constant use are only 40% utilised. In others, strategic lease negotiations or repurposing office space can unlock significant savings to fund future care delivery."