A report has found that the NHS backlog can be directly addressed by introducing modular building systems
Healthcare facility experts Darwin Group and Portakabin have published a report, titled The End of the Waiting Line, outlining what they feel to be the key issues within the NHS and suggesting how to improve them, including modular buildings.
One of the main issues within the report is the current NHS backlog, sitting around 7.6m cases, and how it can be addressed.
Modular buildings can tackle the huge backlog
The collective building maintenance cost of the NHS estate is £11m. The report highlights that patient care would benefit from, and be expedited by, the use of clinical and non-clinical NHS modular buildings.
One reason for this is the speed with which these buildings can be installed and added onto existing buildings, taking only a matter of weeks to add another space for patient care or other related uses.
The Darwin Group comments on the NHS’ needs
Nick Dawe, director of strategy and transformation within the Darwin Group, said: “Waste is one of the most important problems the NHS needs to address in order to make itself fiscally and operationally sustainable for the long term,
“The healthcare needs of our expanded population are a million miles from the NHS when it was founded. This means creative and lateral thinking is required to meet the current and future needs of the patients it serves. The astonishing speed and agility which was shown around the creation of Nightingale facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic is one example of the power of flexible facilities to predict and respond to escalating patient need.
“The opportunity now is to recognise and learn from that experience to fully future-proof our health service in a way that brings down the waiting list backlog and enables all those who work tirelessly inside the NHS to deliver treatment and care without compromising standards.”
