Morning, Wednesday, 4th June 2025
Online
This conference will examine priorities for the NHS estate and next steps for the development of hospitals in England.
It is bringing together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss next steps for the recently reviewed New Hospital Programme, priorities for modernising and managing maintenance backlogs in the NHS estate, as well as the future outlook for the NHS estate and latest thinking on it’s role in delivering the shift from hospital to community as part of the wider 10-Year Health Plan.
Design and implementation of the New Hospital Programme
Following the announcement of a three-wave implementation plan for the New Hospital Programme, delegates will discuss practical steps for meeting the needs of patients and staff within hospital design, such as ensuring safety, and supporting accessibility. Areas for discussion also include managing capacity and the healthcare needs of an ageing population, adaptability to emergency surge capacity and infection control, integration of new technology, and the wellbeing of those entering the hospital environment.
The conference will also explore strategies for streamlining delivery, accelerating construction, and embedding sustainability into modernisation. Standardisation and the Hospital 2.0 template will also be considered, as designs are currently being developed, as well as future utilisation of space within NHS estates in line with increasing use of remote consultations and virtual wards.
For hospitals approved for later waves of the New Hospital Programme, it will be an opportunity to discuss strategies for the management and maintenance of their current estate, shaping the future of their estate and meeting the patient needs of their population, as well as navigating the acquirement of land for new hospital sites and working with local authorities on community development.
Finances, strategic commissioning and wider NHS reform
Stakeholders and policymakers will discuss the future for funding, including priorities for targeting of capital investment, as well as approaches to raising NHS capital funding. It will also be an opportunity to examine frameworks for partnerships with the private sector and reforms to the capital departmental expenditure limit.
With a key focus of NHS reform being improving productivity and efficiency, discussion will explore the role of the NHS estate in relation these aims, including consolidation of sites and portfolios, managing energy efficiency projects and maintenance backlogs with constrained budgets, and the future for bodies such as NHS property services.
As more autonomy and funding is directed to local systems, sessions will consider priorities for strategic commissioning at the local level, opportunities for more localised estates strategy, flexibility and adaptability, and the role of integrated care systems in planning services to meet local need.
It will also be an opportunity to discuss the future for cross-sector collaboration in estates planning and developing governance and planning frameworks for co-located healthcare services.
Modernising and developing a more energy-efficient estate
We expect discussion to reflect issues emerging from the Government’s forthcoming 10-Year Health Plan, with its proposals for a digitally modernised and more energy-efficient estate, as well as plans for a shift to more care in community settings.
The way forward for enabling care closer to home will be discussed, in the context of wider policy on healthcare including development of Health on the High Street initiatives, looking at models for local health hubs, working with local authorities to utilise empty spaces on the high street and the potential for the NHS estate to cater to the diverse needs of staff and patients in different areas. Delegates will also review strategies for achieving net zero for primary and secondary care estates, as NHS trusts and ICBs refresh their green plans.
In assessing the way forward, we expect delegates to draw on findings from Lord Darzi’s Independent Investigation of the NHS in England, looking at opportunities for integration of digital infrastructure within the estate, improving efficiency, updating IT hardware and systems, and ensuring adequate facilities to accommodate and train staff. Latest thinking on tackling the maintenance backlog will also be considered, with discussion on practicalities for accelerating construction, as well as next steps for ensuring the primary care estate is fit for purpose.
Overall, areas for discussion include:
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those due to attend include parliamentary pass-holders from the House of Commons and officials from DHSC; DSIT; DBT; DfE; NAO; and DoH, NI.
