Management of premises for family doctors: a case for treatment

General medical practitioners (GPs) in the UK are working from increasingly sophisticated premises. UK Government consultations have highlighted that inadequate premises are currently a barrier to improvements in primary health care. Therefore the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997 permits pilot schemes for primary health care which may encompass property improvements. Provision of quality buildings has implications for the willingness of patients to consult GPs, the range of services offered by family doctors and the cost‐effectiveness of primary health care delivery. The decentralized nature of primary health care raises issues about the evolution of building design knowledge to cater for technical and organizational innovations in health care. As primary health care facilities become more sophisticated, advances in construction management techniques need to be applied so that they are procured efficiently. Current real estate arrangements for the provision of primary health care facilities are causing concern. The capital investment involved is increasingly burdensome for GPs. Lack of Government finance is leading to pressures for the employment of private capital, with accompanying new opportunities for property managers.