Healthcare construction output fell in 2018

The new Healthcare Construction Market Report, published by AMA Research, has revealed that construction output in the healthcare sector in 2018 fell over 15% to an estimated value of £2.5Bn, which is the lowest recorded value of the sector since 2015.

According to the report, alterations in the proportion of investment within the public and private sectors in 2018 is a direct reflection of that which was being shown in the health sector, in which investment focus was shifting away from PF1 and PF2 contracts for large scale hospital developments and more towards small scale local health authority controlled programmes.

As a result, in recent years, the public sector has held the majority of value within the healthcare sector, at a proportion of approximately 60% in 2018, but nonetheless fluctuates as a consequence of budget cuts, meaning that the 2018 figure was down from around 70% in 2017.

This decline in investment within the private sector can be explained by a fall in referrals from the NHS as well as a lower number of overseas patients receiving private treatment in Britain which ultimately means that there is a decreased demand in facility expansion from private healthcare providers.

What this has meant, on the whole, is that the healthcare pipeline is now primarily concerned with lower value extensions and refurbishment projects to healthcare facilities in spite of the fact that urgent investment across the NHS estate in England is needed to ensure that healthcare infrastructure is able to facilitate new health care methods and new models of integrated care.

In order to achieve said infrastructure, as well as resolve the £6Bn maintenance backlog, the government is seeking the necessary funding from various different sources, including the private sector.

Fortunately, however, future projections for health construction output look steady, with moderate annual growth rated forecast to 2023, while output levels in the short term are being fuelled through the steady workload which small NHS frameworks, such as the £4.26Bn ProCure22 programme, provide.

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