VIDEO | The future of healthcare estates in the spotlight

Overcoming the backlog maintenance headache, the role of NHS facilities in regeneration, and how a move towards a community-based model of care could shape our places were discussed at a recent roundtable hosted by Morgan Sindall Construction.

Health secretary Wes Streeting’s 10-year vision for 43 neighbourhood health hubs could fundamentally change the way developers approach regeneration and presents an opportunity to create healthier, happier places, participants said.

“The hubs are going to be really key moving forwards to see how placemaking presents itself in the future,” said Laura Meyer, planning director at WSP.

In a discussion about the future of healthcare estates, chat around new hospitals is never far away.

Participants dissected the previous government’s New Hospitals Programme and offered up ideas as to how Labour might bring forward facilities like North Manchester and Leighton.

With so much development planned in the healthcare space, there are concerns around the construction industry’s capacity to deliver.

Steven Gregory, regional director for Morgan Sindall in the North West, said the volume of projects coming forward could increase the region’s construction pipeline by between £5bn and £10bn annually and that, to ensure schemes are brought forward at pace, collaboration will be key.

“We are going to have to align ourselves early with our supply chain…and manufacturers now for the next five years,” he said.

Key talking points:

• The move to a community-based healthcare model presents opportunities to deliver healthier places

• The NHS is well-placed to shape the regeneration of towns and cities given the scale of its land holdings

• The planning system must improve if the health sector and development community is to be able to move at pace to deliver

• A robust, long-term strategy is the only way to give certainty to the market that delivery is possible

• Government backing for the redevelopment of North Manchester General Hospital and Leighton Hospital in Crewe have bouyed the market.

To learn more about how the changing face of healthcare could impact on existing and new communities, watch the video at the top of this article.

Participants

Steven Gregory – area director for the North West – Morgan Sindall Construction

Ged Couser – principal – BDP

Laura Meyer – planning director – WSP

Ben Boothroyd – key account manager – Altro

Michelle Humphreys – director of strategic projects – Manchester University Hospital Foundation Trust

Phoebe Braidwood – deputy director of capital projects – RFL Property Services

Nick Mullins – co-founder – Axis-RE

Natalie Harrison – senior project manager – Turner & Townsend

Darren Birch – framework manager – Morgan Sindall Construction

Steven Noble – chief investment officer – Assura