Gordon Stirling, Sector director of Health at Tilbury Douglas, explains how construction can assist the NHS with its focus on ‘preventing sickness rather than focusing on the cure’.
As the NHS continues its long-term shift toward preventative healthcare, the construction industry can play a vital enabling role in shaping environments that promote early intervention, integrated care, and better outcomes. This aligns with the NHS's 10-Year Plan, which outlines three strategic priorities:
Prevention covers multiple areas in helping people to manage their healthcare more effectively. It's underpinned by broader societal factors, such as income, housing, education, diet, exercise, and environment — all of which shape long-term health outcomes. Early intervention through early diagnostics or understanding a patient's pathway to cure is — unless it is an urgent issue, generally first dealt with through primary care.
Accessible and well-designed care environments are fundamental to early diagnosis, chronic disease management, and recovery. Timely access to primary care remains the first line of defence against escalation into what can be complex, high-cost acute services.
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