NHS Property Services’ Annual Report outlines post-pandemic consolidation underpinned by £250m savings achievements

Key deliverables made during the financial year 2021/22 by NHSPS:

• £44.1m in annual cost efficiencies to the health service
• £98m shareholder loans cleared in full to Department of Health and Social Care
• £135m capital investment made across NHS - increase of more than 20%
• 122 additional healthy places sites completed
• 28 social prescribing places created

NHS Property Services delivered £44.1m in cost efficiencies for the health service during 2021/22 against a target of £31.9m, as well as clearing outstanding shareholder loans to the Department of Health and Social Care of £98m.

NHSPS’ 2021/22 annual report, published this month, demonstrates that the business - which owns and manages around 10 per cent of the NHS estate - exceeded its initial target by almost £14million and has now delivered a cumulative total of over £250m in savings to the NHS since 2017*.

Total capital investments of £135m were also delivered in year, compared to £110m in 2020/21, delivering improvements to the NHS property portfolio for customers and patients, ensuring that the estate is consistently fit for purpose.

Greater efficiencies, including continued improvement in in billing, increased customer engagement and effectiveness of the organisation’s debt management programme - as well as an ongoing commitment to supporting the Greener NHS agenda - have also led to a more consistent standard of performance, enabling healthcare professionals to focus on delivering excellent care.

In addition, NHSPS delivered a further 122 transformational estate projects as part of its ‘Healthy Places’ scheme, which will benefit millions of patients across the country and provide 25,000 sqm of improved space for the NHS. And the organisation’s social prescribing programme continued to flourish in 21/22 too, creating a further 28 hubs in line with the goals laid out in the NHS Long Term Plan to refer at least 900,000 people to these services by 2023/24.

The report also describes how NHSPS has continued to work closely in partnership with NHS colleagues in many of the newly formed Integrated Care Systems across the country, to understand their needs and shape future estates projects to tackle health inequalities and care backlogs.

Martin Steele, Chief Executive Officer at NHSPS said: “This set of results and our overall performance during this period is testament to the hard work and commitment of the 6,000 colleagues across the organisation and the core values that unite us – putting customers and patients at the heart of everything we do.

“As we move forwards, we remain resolved to continue providing innovative, affordable and practical healthcare estate solutions across the NHS ecosystem, while also protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of our colleagues. I remain incredibly proud of the work our colleagues have done for the NHS and the business remains well-positioned to build a brighter future for our health service by promoting progress in its estate strategy.”

Mark Smith, Chief Financial Officer for NHSPS added: “This has been a year of significant financial milestones for the business with our debts to the Department of Health and Social Care cleared in full and achieving the delivery of more than £250m in savings to the NHS since 2017. 

“These achievements have been a collaborative effort involving everyone from frontline colleagues to senior managers and I’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who’s been involved in making the cost transformation programme a success.

“Cost savings will continue to be a vital component, but we will also be driving a more holistic view of the full value we provide for our customers and stakeholders. For example, through income generation, increased efficiencies, and sustainability.”

About NHS Property Services

NHS Property Services brings property and facilities management expertise to thousands of sites across the NHS estate. At a time of major change and increasing demand for the NHS, NHS Property Services is working with local health systems to reduce costs, creating a more fit for purpose estate and generating vital funds that are being reinvested to support improvements in frontline patient care. The company’s portfolio consists of 2755 properties which represents around 10 per cent of the entire NHS estate. The vast majority of our sites are used for clinical, local healthcare and fall into one of three categories: Health centres and GP surgeries; Hospitals/hospital-related properties; or Offices.