CCGs to be at centre of estates strategies

What has happened?

The new guidance gives CCGs responsibility for the coordination of health estates strategies across the primary, secondary and community estates and also includes engagement with the wider public sector. The aim is for the CCGs to produce their initial strategies this year.

Local Estates Forums are to be established to assist in understanding the available public sector estate and to align it to commissioning intentions. Where secondary, tertiary and wider public sector partners already have their own strategic estates plans, the Local Estate Forum is to ensure these are aligned, although this will of course only be possible with the cooperation of all relevant parties.

Community Health Partnerships are put forward as being available to assist in the development of these strategies, but this poses a potential conflict of interest given the need to maximise the use of their own estate.

What will this mean?

It is clear therefore that commissioning is going to be used as a mechanism to drive forward estate efficiencies.

By way of example, the CCG can specify from which premises the service that is being tendered will be delivered.

How will this work?

Six stages are identified in the process:

• Step 1: is to establish the Local Estates Forum. This might include existing structures such as the Strategic Partnering Board in a LIFT area.
• Step 2: is to analyse the existing estate, including the proportion of the estate dedicated to certain functions and held by particular owners (Trusts, Community Health Partnerships, local authorities etc).
• Step 3: is to identify the estate that will be needed to deliver the health strategy.
• Step 4: is to identify the gaps, and set out key priorities for change. This may include closing a site, consolidating activities on a site, or providing new facilities either to replace existing buildings or to meet the bespoke needs of the New Models of Care.
• Step 5: will be an options appraisal looking at the initial proposals for key priority areas.
• Step 6: entails finalising the estates strategy.

What does this mean for you?

This once again highlights how important it will be for Trusts, GPs, local authorities and other public sector bodies which hold land to proactively engage with CCGs to ensure that your estate can be used to best position service providers to win and retain key services contracts and to make any surplus estate available for the provision of health services.

How can I find out more?

For further details on the issues raised by this update or on any other aspect of estates strategies, please get in touch.