Downlands Medical Centre, Sussex

Following GP Surveyors’ negotiations, Downlands Medical Centre in East Sussex received a Notional Rent increase of 49.3% above the PCT’s initial valuation, read their case study to find out how.

Downlands Medical Centre approached GP Surveyors in 2012 because they wished to seek a second opinion as to whether their Notional Rent reimbursement was correct.

They had suspicions that the figure of £29,230 presented to them by the PCT was too low, however they never imagined that they were being underfunded by so much.

Following his in-depth inspection of the surgery premises, Chris Kozlowski, the surveyor assigned to the practice, agreed with this view point and GP Surveyors took on the case.

Chris presented the case to the PCT and clearly demonstrated why he believed the Notional Rent for the surgery should be higher. He drew on a wide variety of comparable evidence – looking at the Notional Rents of similar surgeries in similar locations.

Following GP Surveyors’ successful negotiations, a new Notional Rent reimbursement figure was agreed with the PCT which amounted to a total uplift of £43,260 over three years – until their next triennial review.

Dr Steve Dickson, Finance Officer, said:

“We believed that the Notional Rent for our surgery was too low so we approached GP Surveyors for a second opinion.

“Following their negotiations, Downlands Medical Centre secured a Notional Rent increase of 49.3% above what was being proposed by the PCT. We never imagined that the increase in reimbursement would be so great.

“The increase in funds will mean that we can plough investment back into our GP surgery building which otherwise we would have had to fund through earnings from the business. As part of this we plan to upgrade our entrance by installing automatic doors, update the building’s electrics and solve issues we have with drainage.

“GP Surgeries should all get their Notional Rent reimbursement checked by a specialist surveyor to ensure that they too are not being underfunded.”

Chris Kozlowski commented: “This Notional Rent increase will provide obvious benefits to Downlands Medical Centre at a time when financial pressures on GP surgeries have never been so great.

“Having sought a second opinion from a specialist healthcare surveyor, the practice can now rest assured that they are receiving the correct level of Notional Rent until their next review in three years’ time.”

 

We hope you found our Downlands Medical Centre case study to be a useful resource. To book a review of your Notional Rent please contact us today and we will be happy to help.

 

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