High street conversions benefit local communities

Last November, the controversial Darzi Report,1 in its recommendations for the future of the NHS, stated that, 'Too great a share [of NHS funding] is being spent in hospitals, too little in the community', and emphasised the importance of locating healthcare facilities on the high street — closer to where people live, work, and shop.

In the same month, the Built Environment Committee of the House of Lords published High Streets: Life beyond retail.2 The report recognised that people wish to have a mix of provisions on the high street, which may include public services such as health services. As well as boosting NHS capacity and meeting the needs of local communities, the report says health centres could act as new 'anchor' sites for high streets and bring in more people to the local high street.

The benefits of locating healthcare services in town centres and high streets has been widely recognised for many years. The reasoning was conveyed very comprehensively in a 2020 report by the NHS Confederation, Health on the High Street.3 The report recognises, among other benefits, the role that public healthcare performs in broadening the range of services within communities, supporting and participating in the design of healthy communities and utilising vacant properties. Specifically, the report states that, 'Health and wellbeing are central to community life, and a new vision of a civic, more community-centred high street must have health services at its heart and promote healthy living'.