Property leaders say long-term, sustained capital investment and partnerships between healthcare operators and the private sector will be critical to delivering the Government’s NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England, which was unveiled this morning.

The plan, launched by Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, focuses on three big shifts: analogue to digital, hospital to community, and sickness to prevention.

And the estate will play a crucial role in realising the aims of the strategy by bringing care closer to home.

Under the long-awaited plan, neighbourhood health services will be rolled out across the country, bringing diagnostics, mental health, post-op, rehab, and nursing to people’s doorsteps

These facilities will house services under one roof and will be open at evenings and weekends.

Starmer said: “The NHS should be there for everyone, whenever they need it.

“But we inherited a health system in crisis, addicted to a sticking-plaster approach and unable to face up to the challenges we face now, let alone in the future.

“That ends now. Because it’s reform or die.

“Our 10 Year Health Plan will fundamentally rewire and futureproof our NHS so that it puts care on people’s doorsteps, harnesses game-changing tech, and prevents illness in the first place.

“That means giving everyone access to GPs, nurses, and wider support all under one roof in their neighbourhood – rebalancing our health system so it fits around patients’ lives, not the other way round.

“This is not an overnight fix, but our Plan for Change is already turning the tide on years of decline with over four million extra appointments, 1,900 more GPs, and waiting lists at their lowest level for two years.

Our 10 Year Health Plan will fundamentally rewire and futureproof our NHS so that it puts care on people’s doorsteps, harnesses game-changing tech, and prevents illness in the first place

“But there’s more to come. This government is giving patients easier, quicker and more convenient care, wherever they live.”

The plan follows Lord Darzi’s diagnosis of the challenges facing the NHS, published last year, where he assessed it was in a ‘critical condition’ as a result of deep-rooted issues including low productivity, poor staff morale, a failure to keep up with new technology, rising waiting times, and a deterioration in the health of the nation.

Built around the three key principles, the reforms within the plan will deliver the Government’s promise to stop rising waiting lists, deliver more-convenient care, and tackle inequalities across the country.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “Our 10 Year Health Plan will turn the NHS on its head, delivering one of the most-fundamental changes in the way we receive our healthcare in history.

“By shifting from hospital to community, we will finally bring down devastating hospital waiting lists and stop patients going from pillar to post to get treated.

The status quo of ‘hospital by default’ will end, with a new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can: digital-by-default, in a patient’s home where possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, in a hospital if necessary

“The status quo of ‘hospital by default’ will end, with a new preventative principle that care should happen as locally as it can: digital-by-default, in a patient’s home where possible, in a neighbourhood health centre when needed, in a hospital if necessary.

“This approach will make access to healthcare more convenient for patients and easier to fit around their day to day lives, rather than disrupting people’s work and personal lives.”

Impact on estates

Coinciding with launch of the plan this week, the Government has also published it’s 10 Year Strategy for UK Infrastructure, which outlines significant funding to modernise and maintain NHS facilities.

From 2025-26 to 2029-30, £70bn is earmarked for infrastructure replacement, maintenance, safety upgrades, and the DHSC estate, with a further £49bn set aside for 2030-35 to support the New Hospital Programme, hospital repairs, and full elimination of RAAC across the NHS by 2035.

The plan ensures NHS facilities are not just rebuilt, but better aligned with future service delivery models, including today’s commitment to digital-first care and enhanced community treatment.

Primary and community health facilities will also benefit from decarbonisation and public-private partnership initiatives, reflecting a broader ambition to drive digital transformation and preventive care through sustainable estates.

Opportunities exist in exporting their expertise internationally, collaborating with pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms to commercialise research projects, renting out unused space across the NHS estate, and leasing out high-value medical equipment or technology to other healthcare providers

But today’s announcement has also led to calls for a better approach to the delivery and maintenance of healthcare infrastructure to ensure the aims of both these strategies are effective in the long term.

And, speaking to Healthcare Property, Charlotte Harpin, partner specialising in integrated care systems at law firm, Browne Jacobson, said the private sector would have a key role to play, adding : “We expect a new tranche of primary care hubs that bring together physical and mental health services, with community and primary care under one roof, easing stress on both GP practices and hospitals.

“While integrated care boards will commission these hubs, there must be greater acceptance of the role the private sector will play supporting and working with the NHS to achieve the ambition in the plan.”

Browne Jacobson’s Carly Caton, partner in commercial healthcare, agreed, telling us that private patient units were a relatively-quick way to improve services and bring in additional income.

She said: “Giving trusts more freedom to spend their money could create new opportunities for innovation and generating commercial income, which improves financial resilience and improves patient outcomes by reinvestment into NHS operations.

“NHS trusts can increase their commercial activity either on their own in partnership with the private sector.

“Opportunities exist in exporting their expertise internationally, collaborating with pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms to commercialise research projects, renting out unused space across the NHS estate, and leasing out high-value medical equipment or technology to other healthcare providers during periods of low usage.

For the majority of outpatient services to move to neighbourhood health hubs by 2035, suitable locations need to be identified and buildings have to be developed or repurposed

“One of the most-effective ways of creating new income streams is to increase patient private activity within NHS hospitals.

“Most trusts already run private patient units (PPUs) but, with the exception of a few, these tend to be relatively small, meaning they provide untapped potential in terms of raising additional income to plough back into NHS services.

“There are numerous ways of expanding PPUs and it doesn’t necessarily require significant capital investment if a trust is willing to partner with a private provider.

“Partnership structures can extend from commercial agreements to developing some form of physical expansion to estates.”

And Sarah Livingston, CBRE’s head of UK healthcare sector, said: “Where and how healthcare is delivered is going to change fundamentally over the next 10 years.

“For the majority of outpatient services to move to neighbourhood health hubs by 2035, suitable locations need to be identified and buildings have to be developed or repurposed.

“Time will tell whether this can be achieved at the speed required, but the new 10-year plan is a welcomed and necessary first step.

“From a real estate perspective – good-quality care cannot be delivered in derelict buildings. To successfully execute this strategy, we will need to see significant funding for capital investment in the NHS estate.”

Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of health think tank, The King’s Fund, also warned that just co-locating services was not enough to improve delivery, adding: “History has shown us that you can’t simply co-locate different health professionals in a building and expect a neighbourhood health service to flourish.

“In order to ultimately offer a more-personalised service to the public, health and social care professionals will need to work differently to join up patient care.

From a real estate perspective – good-quality care cannot be delivered in derelict buildings. To successfully execute this strategy, we will need to see significant funding for capital investment in the NHS estate

“It is critical that general practice is at the heart of these new centres, and capital investment will also be needed to ensure they are in genuinely accessible community locations and able to make use of the latest technology.”

She added: “‘People’s faith in the founding principles of the NHS remains strong, but their belief that the NHS will be there for them in times of need has fractured in recent years.

“The test for this plan is whether the public believe it will be different this time, and whether people’s satisfaction with services can be restored relatively quickly.

“Now the Government has published its health plan, everything rests on how it will work with all parts of the health and care system to deliver on its commitments.”