A new UNISON research report outlines the extent of land sales in the English NHS and suggests a number of campaigning objectives for the union.
This year UNISON Health Conference passed motion 66, “NHS land is a public asset”, which stated that NHS land should only be sold if there is a long term benefit for the NHS and our communities, including NHS staff.
The motion drew attention to recent trends for the proceeds of land sales to be used to pay for everyday NHS running costs (rather than reinvested in the redevelopment of the NHS estate) and for insufficient levels of affordable housing to be built on former NHS land.
The union has now produced a short report which is intended as part of a wider campaign to highlight the above issues.
It looks into the impact of austerity economics and other NHS initiatives in England, as well as investigating the extent of land sales in the NHS and what has been done with the proceeds of such sales.
The report closes with some suggested campaigning objectives for the union and a request for feedback on the contents of the report and for local examples.