Yeovil District Hospital Partnership and Masterplan

Transforming fragmented planning into a strategic masterplan that unlocks a trust’s vision

Like many NHS Trusts, Yeovil District Hospital faced the challenges of increasing demand, an ageing estate and limited capital. When they needed to deliver several critical, strategic projects they had the foresight to realise that without commercial property expertise, a carefully-sequenced masterplan or affordable funding routes, their current resources would leave them falling short of achieving their ambitious vision.

The answer to a forever-moving puzzle of estate planning came in the form of a collaborative and strategic partnership with Prime. A 15-year agreement that is helping YDH to plan for the future of their estate and deliver transformational change at pace.

YDH, like the majority of rural, district general hospitals, had suffered from a piecemeal approach to planning, whereby the focus is given to one or two services at a time. This can lead to an inevitable challenge of moving services to resolve a problem, only to create another somewhere else.

In a land-locked estate surrounded by major roads and private homes, the Trust recognised it needed development land. With space at a premium, the only way to achieve this was through the creation of a multi-storey car park to free-up the land to develop much-needed new clinical facilities. The car park would be the enabler for the site transformation but this couldn’t proceed without a holistic understanding of the vision and the moving parts involved. So, a commercially robust masterplan became critical to the Trust being able to deliver improvements to the estate.

With the industry-leading experience of supporting healthcare providers to achieve clinical, operational and strategic objectives, Prime entered into a long-term partnership with the Trust. In helping them to assess the impact of failing to take action, Prime has been able to unlock new possibilities for the Trust via the creation of a collaborative, strategic and integrated estates masterplan.

The Strategic Estates Partnership has delivered a multitude of benefits to the Trust. From providing a framework that brings projects in line with the Trust’s overarching aims, to support in selecting and sourcing the most suitable funding methods. In addition, because the whole focus of the masterplan and the projects within it are aligned with the Trust’s vision – and, therefore, the Stakeholders’ vision – it’s become easier to get stakeholder buy-in.

The ability to integrate all works, no matter where the funding is derived from, grants the Trust the flexibility to pick-and-choose schemes as and when the time is right and the resource is in place.

Regular collaboration between Prime and the Trust ensures that together they review the current estate, determine priorities for capital expenditure, coordinate strategic planning and manage potential risks. Always testing these against the Trust’s overarching masterplan to deliver their vision of affordable, high-quality facilities that improve the patient experience.

Developing space for change in health and care