TO BE PUBLISHED March 2026
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This conference will examine next steps for the NHS estate, and for the development of new hospitals in England.
Government funding plans & targeting
With the Government committing £6bn per year for health infrastructure in its UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy, it will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to consider how funding can best be deployed to optimise the scale and pace of estate renewal, alongside priorities for further development of ICB 10-year infrastructure strategies.
In light of the 10 Year Health Plan and the Health and Social Care Committee’s inquiry into Delivering the Neighbourhood Health Service: Estates, a key area for discussion will be how the NHS estate can support the shift towards more care in community settings, a more digital-first service, and a stronger focus on prevention. Progress and next steps for the New Hospital Programme, maintenance priorities for existing hospitals, and strategies for improving space utilisation and interoperability across the secondary care estate will also be discussed.
Delegates will assess priorities for strategic investment, alongside approaches to simplifying capital funding routes and options for unlocking additional resources while achieving long-term value for money. The agenda will also examine implications of the 2025 Autumn Budget for neighbourhood health centres and the public-private partnership models being taken forward.
We expect discussion to reflect stakeholder concerns over how public-private partnerships will work in practice, and to examine what is needed to improve on previous PFI initiatives, including addressing cost risks and ensuring greater flexibility in contracts.
Community infrastructure & local healthcare delivery
Sessions will consider operational and estate planning for services delivered in the community, including the development of neighbourhood health centres and other community facilities, and how their design can support multidisciplinary working and more integrated care.
Next steps for improving coordination between commissioning and estate development will be discussed, including strategies for fostering effective partnerships across ICBs, trusts and local government around joint priorities. Learning and accountability mechanisms will also be considered, including how pilots are reviewed and good practice carried forward, alongside options for local and community engagement and alignment with wider regeneration activity.
Next steps for the hospital estate
Further sessions consider the delivery of the New Hospital Programme, including practical steps needed to safeguard timelines and budgets, and insights from collaboration between trusts, supply chains, the NHS workforce, and patients. Mitigating extended reliance on ageing facilities will also be a focus, in the context of maintenance backlogs and capacity constraints.
Approaches to streamlining the transition to new hospitals will be assessed, including strategies for incentivising innovation and long-term planning. Delegates will look at examples of best practice in targeting investment, and the role of more flexible approaches, such as modular construction and local control of assets, in sustaining safe and effective care and responding proactively to maintenance needs.
Digital transformation & interoperability
With £300m in capital investment for NHS technology set out in the 2025 Autumn Budget, delegates will discuss the way forward for embedding digital infrastructure in estate design and delivery, as well as integrating new-build facilities with the existing estate to support patient flow and operational efficiency.
Delegates will also assess options for addressing variation between modern and legacy systems, including collaboration on retrofit and procurement, and for integrating digital solutions into estate management, such as using modelling to optimise the use of existing buildings as technology-enabled, virtual and community-based care grows.
Workforce & patient-centric design
Priorities for supporting staff and patients will also be a key focus, including how workforce wellbeing, privacy and adaptable spaces for hybrid care can be built into new and existing estates so that infrastructure supports safe and compassionate care.
Next steps in the context of concerns around an ageing estates and facilities management workforce will also be examined, including priorities for recruitment, retention and upskilling to meet the needs of increasingly digitally reliant infrastructure.
Sustainability & net zero
Key issues for estate decarbonisation will be discussed, including priorities for risk and climate resilience planning, energy strategy, and reducing inefficiencies without compromising patient care. Areas for focus include allocation of responsibilities, next steps for coordinating efforts across estate management, and how sustainable approaches can be embedded in future design frameworks.
Strategies for advancing decarbonisation alongside the shift toward community care will also be examined, including the role of ICS Green Plans in setting objectives and delivery goals, how the environmental impact of construction and maintenance of new builds can be minimised during planning, and what can be learned from wider public sector net zero efforts.
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.
