16.10.14
Income from NHS land and building sales to increase by 24%
Income from NHS land and building sales is forecast to generate £223m in income for 2014-15, a 24% increase compared to the £180m of capital income received in 2013-14.
This is according to the latest Hospital Estates and Facilities Statistics, released today, which highlighted that this income will be “re-invested” in healthcare services.
The report also revealed the level of capital investment across the NHS has increased by 4.5% since 2012-13. This relates to the amount of capital invested for the upgrading, refurbishment, renewal and modernisation of buildings in the NHS estate. The total of £2.12bn reported for 2013-14 is an increase of £91m, or 4.4%, from the £2.03bn reported in 2012-13.
However, the overall cost to eradicate backlog maintenance across the NHS estate has shown a small increase of 0.1% during the year (£4.035bn 2012-13: £4.041bn 2013-14). And the elements associated with the high and significant risk level, known as Critical Infrastructure Risk, have increased at a higher rate, by 1.3% or £18.2m since 2012-13.
The total annual estates running costs have dropped by about 1%, from £7.4bn in 2012-13 to £7.3bn in 2013-14. These costs comprise two main elements: the estates services (hard facilities management costs at £4.4bn, and the Hotel Services costs known as the soft facilities management costs at £2.9bn.
During the last year, the total size of the NHS estate has continued to contract, following the effect of restructuring the NHS and estates rationalisations. The total floor area of NHS buildings has decreased by 4.4%, a reduction from 27.3 million sq m in 2012-13 to 26.1 million sq m in 2013-14.
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