The NHS could save £1bn if it sold off swathes of land and property, a government report has found.
The Carter Review of hospital efficiency has revealed that hospitals are devoting as little as one-third of their space to patients, with large areas of buildings left empty or used for administration offices.
Labour peer Lord Carter Coles, who led the investigation, called for a significant amount of surplus land to be sold and the use of buildings reviewed.
NHS Property Services, the body set up by the Department of Health in 2013 to help rationalise the NHS estate, has so far disposed of 186 properties, realising £125m in capital receipts and releasing land for more than 2,553 new homes.
However, the body only controls 10% of the entire NHS estate and is not responsible for the hospital estates covered in the Carter Review.
John Westwood, director of asset management at NHS Property Services, said: “The reported finding of £1bn in potential efficiency savings from hospital estates and facilities is a plausible total.
“There is no doubt that some facilities are bursting at the seams, but some are not. There is a large amount of empty and under-utilised space across the NHS.
“Each part of the NHS needs a vision for the clinical and administrative space it needs now and in the longer term. That might be driven by local considerations, such as major housing development in the area, or national policy, such as the desire to provide 24/7 care or to shift care from acute hospitals to community settings.
“Once we know the vision, we can plan the right infrastructure for the NHS. We can look at the business case for modernising poor facilities, opportunities to end leases, the potential for raising revenue through subletting or releasing capital for reinvestment through sale of surplus property.”
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