More than half of NHS employees say their buildings cannot accommodate the extra staff needed.
According to a recent YouGov poll commissioned by Assura, 55% of NHS staff say the estate is already bursting at the seams. YouGov polled 1,000 healthcare professionals, including 750 NHS employees.
The findings also indicated that the current NHS estate is affecting the health service’s ability to treat the rising backlog of patients. Some 64% of NHS employees believed the availability of physical space for care in their local area would affect progress in clearing waiting lists, while 73% agreed that the age and condition of NHS premises will have an impact.
Jonathan Murphy, chief executive at Assura, said: “Our research shows NHS employees think the current state of the NHS estate is lagging critically behind the government’s future strategy for the health service. Pressures on the NHS are greater than ever before, yet many of its hospitals and primary care buildings do not have the space or facilities to tackle the growing backlog of treatments and rising demand for quality, modern healthcare.”
He added that Assura, which has a £2.6bn healthcare property portfolio, was well-placed to drive forward the necessary change.
“We must accelerate the pace of change for the UK’s primary care estate, to create the space the NHS needs if it is going to expand its workforce and increase access to health services,” he said. “Investment in premises for healthcare is a crucial enabler of integrated care, and a long-term strategy for this is overdue.”
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