Rationalising NHS office space to co-locate services and deliver savings

Customers: NHS England and Improvement (NHSE & I), North of England Commissioning Support Unit (NECS), and Humber, Coast and Vale Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

NHSPS representatives: Richard Thomas, Senior National Office Programme Manager

NHS Property Services (NHSPS) National Office Programme identified an upcoming lease break (August 2021) on Alpha Court - a leasehold office site occupied by NHSE&I and NECS. This raised the opportunity to rationalise the NHS office portfolio, providing right sized and fit for purpose office facilities for our occupiers. 

Pre Covid-19 occupier requirements meant that our agreed strategy was to remain in Alpha Court until the lease expiry, continuing to benefit from our previous strategies that had reduced our demise from two floors to one. 

However, the impact of the pandemic meant that organisations were re-evaluating their own office requirements, so we revisited the previously discounted option of co-location with the CCG at West Offices. This had previously been ruled out due to lack of available space in the building, but changes in working practice across all parties meant they could now consider this as a viable option. 

Exact requirements remained fluid but working together in an open, honest and transparent way meant that a strategy was developed with the principle of sharing the available space sensibly, particularly given the perceived advantages of co-location.

NECS decided they no longer needed an office facility in York and redeployed staff to existing premises. But NHSE&I still required office space, and so we exercised the break on our Alpha Court lease, and the relocation of NHSE&I to West Offices. Thanks to the good existing relationships between the occupiers at West Offices, an agreement was made that NHSE&I would sublet from the CCG and use existing building services provided by local authority.

NHSE&I are due to move to West Offices in June 2021, which will enable greater collaboration between them, the CCG and the local authority teams. This is particularly helpful against the backdrop of Integrated Care System development, as organisations across and beyond the NHS work closer to create joined up health and social care. 

The new office facilities will also support smarter working, with flexible spaces spanning break out areas, meeting pods, phone booths and informal meeting/collaboration spaces. 

Leaving Alpha Court and consolidating services within one location will save the NHS £620,000, and wider public sector savings of ~£1 million.