Delivering a modern community hub and saving the NHS £9.6m

South Tees Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) worked with the local Foundation Trusts, GPs and local authority partners in the area to consider the challenges faced in meeting the needs of a growing and ageing population. The CCG have recognised the need to improve the way they care for their elderly population and intend to invest more in community-based services.

To deliver on these ambitions they needed an estate strategy to rationalise the property portfolio, increase utilisation across the community clinical estate and achieve property cost savings to enable an increased investment in clinical services.

The Guisborough Primary Care Hospital has been identified as a key site in this strategy, with much of the site standing vacant meaning there’s potential for significant savings in running costs as well as releasing land for housing. However, it also requires significant investment to bring it back to a satisfactory condition, with the most recent backlog maintenance estimate at £1.5 million.

To support South Tees CCG in delivering their strategy, NHSPS are proposing to refurbish and right size the Guisborough estate, requiring a capital budget of £4.957 million. Alternative options including demolition and new build (on same site) and acquisition and new build on another site were considered but ruled out due to financial constraints.

The older part of the site will be released for disposal, reducing the space required on the site by over 80%.  The newer building will be stripped back to its shell, and completely refurbished and upgraded to deliver a modern and fit for purpose community health centre. Part of the site has already been released and sold
(2017) with the receipt being returned to DHSC.

The funding is via the Department of Health and Social Care, and the CCG will enter into a 25-year commitment to ensure that the funding can be recovered by way of a capitalised rental over that period.