New Hospital Programme: Partnership and innovation will drive real change for our communities

New Hospital Programme Senior Responsible Owner Natalie Forrest joined health and infrastructure experts speaking at UKREiiF 2023 – one of the biggest property and development events in the UK, connecting people, places and businesses to accelerate and unlock sustainable, inclusive and transformational investment. She has three takeaways from the event

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It was fantastic to share our vision for the New Hospital Programme at this year’s UKREiiF (Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum) 2023.

The event, held in Leeds, is one of the biggest of its kind in the country and I was able to join Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s chair Dame Linda Pollard and other panellist to discuss Healthy Cities for Healthy Economies - Delivering Critical Infrastructure to Support National Wellbeing and Placemaking.

The three words that stood out to me during our conversations were partnership, innovation and catalyst.

Partnership

The New Hospital Programme is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver healthcare infrastructure in a single, nationwide programme to help our NHS transform the care it provides.

We know we must take advantage of the scale of our national programme to create positive health outcomes and wider regeneration opportunities for our communities.

But we will only realise the full potential if we work in partnership with our existing stakeholders and forge new relationships to ensure that the investment in our buildings and infrastructure deliver public health benefits that are inclusive, and sustainable.

Innovation

Innovation is at the heart of the New Hospital Programme with our mission to put patients and our NHS workforce centre stage as we set new clinical standards and ways of working in the hospitals of the future.

But we can also have a much more wide-reaching impact on the health of our communities if, through new approaches, we can support regeneration and development beyond the healthcare facilities we are going to build.

The vision for Leeds is a fantastic example of this. Subject to final approvals, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust's plans include building a new adults’ hospital and new children’s hospital on the site of Leeds General Infirmary.

As well as fantastic new facilities for the region this will release land for their Innovation Village. Backed by public and private sector partners, this will comprise a new city centre science park, creating 4,000 new jobs, more than 520 new homes, and an economic boost of nearly ￡13 billion to the local economy, according to an independent forecast by PwC.

Catalyst

We know improving the economic outlook for our communities through high-skilled jobs, better housing and sustainable, co-ordinated planning is one of the best ways to improve public health and Dame Linda is crystal clear that the new hospitals we will help them deliver are the catalyst.

The catalyst for great new healthcare facilities, designed and built to meet the needs of patients and our NHS workforce.

And the catalyst for wider improvements that will deliver long-lasting benefits to our communities.

Our challenge now is to ensure we seize every opportunity with schemes across the New Hospital Programme to squeeze every drop of value – direct and indirect – out of the huge investment we are making in our NHS infrastructure.

Our challenge now is to ensure we seize every opportunity with schemes across the New Hospital Programme