NHS plans huge increase in PPP projects

The Department of Health is drawing up plans to hugely increase the number of building projects it delivers in partnership with the private sector, under plans known as Project Phoenix.

The public private partnership (PPP) drive could be worth up to £5bn, according to Roger Pulham, a director at Gleeds who leads on the consultant’s health work and is familiar with the plans.

Project Phoenix is set to revamp the way healthcare services are procured and run, with a more services to be offered in surgeries and clinics based in communities rather than hospitals.

The programme will cover England, and is set to be divided into eight regions, two of which will be Greater Manchester and London.

Under the plans, which consultant PwC has advised on, more NHS-owned land and buildings could be released for commercial use.

Gleeds’ Pulham said: “Everything suggests there will be a lot of transformation programmes and re-use of existing space. There will be a lot of activity.”