Asset managers in the NHS are facing one of their stiffest tests to date as a radical shake-up of health and social care services gets underway – but innovative asset management could be key to the success in this health service revolution.
This is the thrust of a special report “Asset Management in Health and Social Care” from TPP Law, which explores the challenges, opportunities and legal considerations facing asset managers as the NHS undergoes radical management change and service reconfiguration.
The Coalition Government is pressing ahead with plans to dismantle the current NHS organisational framework, axing strategic health authorities and primary care trusts, and putting primary power into the hands of GP consortia, complemented by the NHS Commissioning Board, to help create a patient-led NHS. The Spending Review confirmed that NHS revenue budgets will rise by just 0.1% above inflation and capital budgets will fall by 17% over the period to 2015.
TPP Law, which specialises in advising in delivering successful public service partnerships, especially in healthcare and social care, has looked at how this major wave of change will impact on asset management and what asset managers should do.
“Services may go mobile or be based around non-traditional locations,” said Mark Johnson, Managing Director of TPP Law. “As care pathways are redesigned and cost pressures bite, the trend for moving services into the community will continue and remote working for health and social care professionals will proliferate. Cost savings from joint working and co-location will come to the fore.”
The TPP Law report says that efficiency in asset management in terms of good space utilisation, energy use and low lifecycle costs alone will not be enough. In future asset management must also be able to demonstrate effectiveness by making a positive contribution to patient experience of healthcare delivery, and to costs savings through rationalisation of the health and social care estate.
The goal of moving services away from acute provision back into the community is already well established and the cost benefits recognised; it is also recognised that this is a gradual process. However, says TPP Law, the financial pressures now looming are likely to accelerate this process, as will the opening up of the healthcare and social care markets to new providers including the third sector, social enterprise and “right to request” spin-out organisations.
Opportunities for effective rationalisation of the NHS estate will need to be considered in the context of the local public sector estate generally, with much greater emphasis being placed on efficiencies achievable through joining up with local authorities and other public sector bodies. Through co-location of different public services where the relevant bodies are working jointly, rationalisation of the local public sector estate offers the twin benefits of improved customer experience, and cost savings, says the report.
“The healthcare and social care environment is of key importance to the patient experience, as well as being important for staff. Better outcomes for health are unlikely to be maximised unless the NHS estate can make a positive contribution to this,” said Peter Hill, Associate Director of TPP Law.
“That positive contribution can be brought about by selecting from a range of estate and asset management solutions tailored to local healthcare needs. Solutions may involve an NHS body alone, joint working with another public sector body, partnership working between the NHS, third sector and social enterprise, or with the private sector. Whichever is chosen, solutions which provide both transformational change of patient experience and realisation of a sound estate strategy will be preferred; providers should be willing to offer innovative means of delivering both.”
