A suitable case for treatment

摘要

As we head towards an election next year and each party stakes its claim for moving us from recession to recovery, there will be the usual glory grabbing by all parties. This will be based on what they will claim was their prescient, far-sighted vision and unqualified support for huge infrastructure initiatives like HS_2, Crossrail or the soon-to-be-unveiled energy building programme. What will not be so evident in their proclamations of success will be respective governments' management and control of the NHS estate. To put this all into perspective, the NHS is still one of the largest employers in Europe with more than 1.3 million staff, and has a real estate portfolio of around £70bn. The numbers of different types of property are staggering. The organisation includes more than 8,000 GP practices and 2,300 hospitals alone. More than 1 million people are processed through these buildings every 36 hours.