A national exercise is being carried out to collect GP premises data that will be held centrally. NHS England say they will use the data to inform future investment in the primary care estate, specifically to:
- Support the engagement of GP Contract holders in the assessment of need and the prioritisation of investment in primary care premises.
- Provide robust data on a wide range of property costs which will underpin and evidence the call for additional capital investment in primary care.
- Demonstrate PCN cases for change for capital allocations for current and future governmental spending reviews.
- Support the establishment of the indicative cost of fit for purpose premises, where there is a strategic need to maintain and develop these.
- Support local primary care and wider planning, ultimately making the case for investment requests and disinvestments (service planning, refurbishment, new build, disposals) for STPs/ICSs and PCNs in support of their strategic needs to meet population health outcomes and Long Term Plan objectives.
Community Health Partnerships (CHP) have been commissioned to carry out the data collection. You will have been notified by your local CCG/ICS of these planned site visits.
Whilst this programme is not an explicit GP contractual requirement, practices may wish to consider engaging with it on the basis that:
- The data collected may enable commissioners to fully understand the condition of GP premises and make the case for year-on-year capital investment to support improvements in GP estates.
- Where both landlords/owner occupiers and commissioners agree that there is a need for longer term utilisation of GP premises, capital funding may be prioritised and targeted at supporting the identified improvement needs in line with the relevant Premises Costs Directions (PCDs) at the time.
- Capital funding may be ring fenced for primary care estates improvements.
- It may support GP contract holders to deliver high quality services to their patients from suitable, well maintained, CQC compliant premises, which aligns with the recommendation in NHS England’s Premises Policy review to professionalise the management of GP estates.
NHS England’s plan is that all practices will be contacted to arrange a visit by CHP or a contractor/surveyor acting on their behalf. As part of the contract they have with NHS England, CHP are required to give practices a minimum of five days’ notice in advance of the site visit. The full standard operating procedure that CHP will be working to can be viewed here.
If they try to arrange a visit giving a shorter period of notice, please ask them to reschedule and let the GP Support Team know at gpsupport@lmc.org.uk