How NHS Kent and Medway makes decisions about GP buildings

The NHS nationally is shifting care closer to home. This means:

• less emphasis on large hospital sites
• more care provided in local communities and neighbourhoods
• better joined up services, including GPs, community nurses, mental health and social care working together.

In Kent and Medway, neighbourhood health services will be planned around local populations of around 30- 50,000 people. Neighbourhood health is an approach to delivering care differently and not limited to a building.  Read more on this new approach.

Suitable buildings will however be required to support the delivery of neighbourhood health services. In line with national Neighbourhood Health Centre Guidance NHS Kent and Medway will consider how neighbourhood health centres will be organised across Kent and Medway, and the mix of changes to existing buildings and new builds that may be required over time. This planning will evolve and will inform where capital funding may be prioritised. 

GP buildings are considered within this wider neighbourhood plan, not in isolation.

When considering investment in GP buildings, NHS Kent and Medway focuses on:

• Evidence of local need - including population health needs, demographic data, under-provision and deprivation, areas of significant growth.
• Neighbourhood planning - looking at the whole area, not individual practices alone.
• Making best use of existing buildings - before building something new.
• Replacing very old or unsuitable buildings - improving the quality and accessibility of buildings.
• Value for money - ensuring limited public money is spent responsibly.
• Deliverability - whether a scheme can realistically be built within funding and timescales.

All proposals must go through NHS governance and meet national rules.

A new, GP-only building will only be considered if there is no realistic opportunity to improve or reuse existing NHS or local authority buildings, and if a neighbourhood health centre has not been identified as being required in that area.

Decisions are made in-line with national and local programmes and availability of funding, which means they may take time.

In some cases, a solution is to improve buildings through reconfiguration, for example:

• Creating more consulting rooms to provide more appointment capacity.
• Making better use of space for staff to support new ways of working.

NHS Kent and Medway has processes where GP practices are invited to put forward proposals, which are then assessed and prioritised based on evidence and impact.

The ICB must follow the national rules around what it can and cannot fund for GP buildings. 

These rules allow some costs to be reimbursed (for example rent, business rates, water costs) as part of contract payments but they must be for buildings approved by the ICB.

The ICB is not responsible for improving or expanding existing GP buildings but does provide opportunities for GPs to access capital funding to support increasing capacity when funding is available.

All proposals must show:

• they meet national rules
• they represent value for money
• costs are realistic and sustainable
• they deliver local priorities. 

NHS Kent and Medway can only consider proposals that meet these principles and requirements.

We work closely with:

• Kent County Council and Medway Council
• borough and district councils
• NHS and community partners.

This helps us:

• Join-up services
• use buildings and land more effectively
• identify and secure additional buildings or funding required for primary and community health facilities as part of housing developments. 

We aim to be open and transparent, but:

• Communication on projects witll vary, depending on their timescales, delivery mechanisms and restrictions around commerical confidentiality.
• We will not publish detailed financial or commercially sensitive information.
• Updates will be shared at key stages during scheme development, as appropriate.

Where projects are already in the public domain, we will provide updates and links to published information.

Through this approach, NHS Kent and Medway aims to ensure GP buildings:

• support better access and patient experience
• help general practices recruit and retain staff
• provide capacity for growing communities
• are flexible enough to support neighbourhood health services, including extended and weekend use

This ensures investment in GP premises is fair, evidence based and focused on the greatest benefit for local communities.

Completed (2025 onwards)

• Thanet Community Health Hub - St Peter's Surgery relocated December 2025.
• Chatham Healthy Living Centre - Maritime Health Partnership (branch) and Bryant Street Medical Centre relocated March 2026.
• Amherst Medical Practice - Reconfiguration of space.
• Hildenborough Medical Centre - Reconfiguration of space.
• Wye Surgery - Reconfiguration of space. 

In progress 

• Frank Lloyd Unit Project - Sittingbourne Memorial Hospital - reconfiguration of ground floor of existing NHS building to support relocation of The Chestnuts Surgery - funded through NHS capital and Section 106 contributions.
• Woodlands Family Practice - Large reconfiguration project.

In development 

All projects are subject to business case approval through NHS governance.

• New Medical Centre, Greenhithe (working in partnership with Dartford Borough Council) - To replace three branch surgeries of Swanscombe and Bean Partnership and Temple Hill Group. NHS Capital and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funded.
• New Medical Centre, 'Folca 2' , Folkestone (working in partnership with Folkestone and Hythe District Council) - To relocate Manor Clinic and Guildhall Surgery. NHS Capital and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funded
• West Malling Group Practice - Extension proposal for funding with both NHS Capital and Section 106 funding contributions.