To what extent do you agree with the following statements?
NHS England's own analysis confirms that the poor condition of estates is holding back productivity improvements. There have been 12,000 reported estate failures that have stopped clinical services in the past two years alone. Meanwhile, Healthwatch England has found that the poor estate is worsening patients' experience of NHS services.
Our survey also reflected this, with respondents assessing their facilities as being largely safe but a barrier to further efficiency gains. One leader explained that his trust faced a yearly bill of £500,000 simply to manage a life-expired drainage system in one of its hospitals – an annual cost that could be eliminated altogether by a one-off investment. This type of costly, recurring expense reduces the scope to invest in tools and systems to improve efficiency and productivity.
This has immediate consequences for the patient experience. While a large majority (79%) of respondents confirmed that their estate was safe for staff and patients, two-thirds believed that the condition of their organisation's facilities was not enhancing experiences of patients under their care.