NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has launched a new guide to Maintaining the NHS Estate.

The publication follows a survey of estate leader, which sought to find out how to improve building maintenance across their estates.

The survey found that management of NHS sites is changing due to advances in how we collect data and use technology to tackle backlogs.

The survey identified ageing infrastructure, funding and the scale of backlog maintenance as the biggest barriers to reducing the backlog of maintenance.

The guide provides estate leaders with practical considerations as to how to reduce their backlog maintenance. This should include building a complete backlog view and categorising the entire estate into core flex and tail. This places buildings into those that are essential, those that are acceptable but may not be fit for long-term use and those that are sub-optimal and outdated.

The guide also looks at how the NHS commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2040 is reshaping how buildings are operated and upgraded.

Simon Taylor, Director of Policy, Strategy and Capital Projects at NHS Property Services said: “Estate leaders are determined to tackle the ageing NHS estate they manage, and their message is loud and clear, they want the tools to help them improve compliance and take advantage of the latest technologies to harness useful data and increase utilisation.”

“The NHS already possesses much of the expertise, framework and data required to improve estate performance. The task is achievable; success depends on how decisions are made, how evidence is used and how effectively leaders are aligned from board level through to operational teams. When these are in place, strategy becomes action, leading to better patient care.”