Property development in the NHS isn’t just about developing new hospitals – it’s about finding opportunities that unlock value from NHS land while best serving patients and communities.
Q) How would you describe your role in simple terms?
Junior: Our role is about turning ideas into reality. Whether that’s a new building or a major redevelopment project. We bring together different professions, managing budgets and consultants, and guiding the process from design and planning through to delivery.
The goal is always the same: to create healthcare buildings that are fit for purpose and meet the needs of patients and colleagues.
Q) What kind of projects do you typically support?
Conor: We work on a wide range of projects, but they typically fall into three main categories:
- New primary care centres: This is our bread and butter – Delivering modern facilities that combine GP and health services. Often, we help minimise costs of new builds by engaging in estate rationalisation.
- Estate rationalisation: This means helping the NHS make better use of its estate. We support the disposals team by identifying sites that are underused or outdated and find opportunities for redevelopment. By rethinking the potential of the NHS estate in this way, we free up resources to reinvest into better facilities.
- Customer-driven projects: We work closely with Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and other NHS partners who want to deliver new health facilities or manage asset disposals. These projects are highly collaborative, tailored to individual customer needs and involve effectively managing multiple stakeholders.
Q) How do you manage projects from start to finish?
Vicky: Working in collaboration with other NHSPS teams, we provide an end-to-end service for our customers. From strategy and healthcare planning, through to land acquisition and planning approvals, to construction and handover.
Our team acts as the ‘golden thread’ maintaining a single point of contact for customers throughout. While customers make the final decisions, we advise on complex areas, highlight risks, and keep communication open and transparent.
Q) How do you turn clinical strategies into real usable space?
Conor: We piece together all the technical and clinical requirements of projects and keep everyone aligned from the very start.
Through regular design workshops and ongoing meetings with customers, we make sure their requirements are fed into early design processes and then we obviously keep our technical experts up to date too.
It’s about taking everyone along the journey, so the final building works for patients, colleagues, and the wider NHS.
Q) How do you help futureproof NHS buildings?
Junior: Futureproofing is about designing flexibility in all that we do. For example, by making a consultant room slightly larger than it needs to be or adding features like sinks, we open up the possibility for that room to be used for other purposes in the future.
Q) Are there any common misconceptions about what you do?
Vicky: There are a few misconceptions about what we do. Firstly, it’s that we only work on our estate, and that’s not true. We are advisors to the wider NHS and more than happy to do that too.
Another misconception is that we’re not healthcare led nor customer focused. Nothing could be further from the truth. We know who our customers are, it’s the NHS and we’re absolutely committed to meeting the goals of our customers.
Sometimes, I think we are perceived of being too commercial, but actually what it is, is that we’re really good at negotiating on behalf of the NHS. A lot of us are qualified surveyors with a vast amount of experience. And a lot of that is commercial experience, but it’s combined with deep NHS knowledge as we’re part of the NHS family.
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