Fifty of the 120 Neighbourhood Health Centres (NHCs) planned by 2030 are expected to be delivered from the existing NHS estate.
This presents an opportunity for NHS Property Services to identify and refurbish suitable buildings.
At the end of last year, NHS Property Services published a report offering practical and cost-effective advice for local NHS providers on how to deliver NHCs across England.
The report, Making Neighbourhood Health Centres a Reality: Optimising the Existing Estate, sets out how NHCs can be delivered using existing buildings at a significantly lower cost than new builds.
It outlines a process to bring centres into operation in under a year, avoiding the longer timelines associated with public-private partnership construction.
Many high-quality NHS and public sector buildings are already located in the right communities and could be converted into NHCs.
In NHS Property Services’ experience, several could be ready to open by 2027.
Experts from NHS Property Services are available to help map local health trends and workforce needs.
They can work with integrated care boards (ICBs) and wider partners to identify suitable sites, assess demand, and determine what type of NHC is most appropriate.
NHCs need to be flexible, with rooms adaptable for multiple uses and capable of supporting a range of clinical services throughout the week.
Focusing on real demand, flexible design, shared use, and smart technology will be crucial in creating centres that meet community needs.
Refurbishing existing buildings offers both speed and cost-effectiveness, and allows property experts to test and refine the NHC model.
Research from NHS Property Services has shown that many NHS buildings are underutilised, with average occupancy of less than 50%.
NHS England Chair, Dr Penny Dash, has highlighted that underused buildings contribute significantly to waste in the NHS, citing management and process systems as factors that hinder effective utilisation.
Since April 2020, NHS Property Services has delivered new builds and refurbishments through its Healthy Places programme, covering more than 450 projects that provide improved or new primary, community care and diagnostic services.
One example is Ingol Healthcare Centre in Preston, Lancashire, which was refurbished in just one year.
The centre now features seven new clinical rooms, increased capacity, and has been converted to a Net Zero site, delivering long-term cost savings and reduced carbon emissions.
The £1.3m project addressed rising demand for GP services and improved the sustainability of the building.
NHS Property Services is also using property technology to improve estate management.
NHS Open Space, launched in 2019, is a digital platform that enables healthcare providers to book clinical and non-clinical rooms across England.
It allows estate managers to monitor usage, increase flexibility, and prevent rooms from sitting empty.
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