The National Audit Office has raised concerns that the NHS is not realising the full value of its property portfolio.
In a report to government, the NAO said that better management of NHS Estates would lead to faster and more profitable sales of surplus property.
The report, published today, warned that the Estates’ practice of leaving sales until the end of the year before completion meant it was not always getting the best price. The average time for a sale to complete is 14 months, but the NAO states that times can range from five weeks to five years.
More valuations were also encouraged by the report. The NAO’s head Sir John Bourn said that greater value for money could be achieved if NHS Trusts conducted pre-sale valuations of property, and continued valuations throughout the marketing period.
Proposed sale prices should also be routinely compared with pre-sale valuations, and reasons for variation recorded, to ensure that the best price is achieved. Currently prices usually exceed valuations.
The NHS has one of the largest estates in Europe, valued at around £23bn. Between 1997 and 2000 the NHS sold over £380m of surplus property. It intends to sell a further £700m by March 2003.
EGi News 21/03/02
