How ready is your hospital decant?
Decanting, also called move management, is the relocation of patients, staff and equipment into temporary accommodation while works are carried out to replace, extend or refurbish existing hospital space. Planning a decant runs through seven phases, from convening a project board to approving a business case. Readiness depends on completing those phases in sequence, because options assessed before a project board is in place are usually reopened later.
Decanting in a Healthcare Setting
The context
Decanting is the temporary relocation of a clinical or support function so that its permanent accommodation can be refurbished, extended or replaced. It applies wherever a building cannot simply be emptied for the duration of the works. The decant is not the end in itself: it exists to enable the final works, which is why the end date of those works, rather than the end date of the decant, anchors the whole programme.
Key facts
- There are typically seven phases to planning a healthcare decant as set out in our guide: Effective Decanting for Healthcare Facilities.
- Phasing is the largest cost variable. The number of phases required follows from the relative sizes of the decant space and the accommodation being vacated.
- A decant lasting more than eighteen months removes the option to compromise on the quality of the temporary accommodation.
What are the seven phases of healthcare decants?
- Setting up a project board: Establish the group, including senior clinicians, nurses, anaesthetists and heads of department, that will judge whether a decant space is adequate.
- Considering the extent and phasing: Establish the size of the space being vacated, and the number of phases that follows from the swing space available.
- Exploring the options for decant space: Build a longlist across your own estate, other healthcare facilities and non-hospital space, and test each for clinical practicality.
- Keeping the end date in mind: Fix the end date of the final works, and categorise the decant as short term or long term.
- Estimating the initial costs for each option: Cost the timing and phasing of the decant alongside the capital cost of the facilities.
- Selecting the preferred option: Assess the shortlist on availability, capital cost, safety sign off and the completion date of the final works.
- Preparing a business case: Set out benefits, risks and costs against the preferred option, with input from the project board, project manager and design team.
Why is planning a hospital decant difficult?
A decant is judged on whether patients and staff can work safely in the space they move into. That judgement belongs to clinicians, and it has to happen before a preferred option is fixed rather than after it.
The decision also draws on four things that rarely sit together: the extent of the space being vacated, the swing space available, the cost of phasing, and the end date of the final works. The sequence in which they are settled matters more than any one of them.
Check your decant against all seven phases
The Decanting Readiness Navigator asks two questions on each of the seven phases, plus four about the scheme itself. It takes four minutes and requires no preparation. It provides:
- A phase by phase position across all seven, with what typically comes next.
- Watch points specific to your scheme. These are based on what you are decanting, for how long, and why.
- A prioritised list of next steps and the questions to take to your next project board.
Four minutes. Sixteen questions. Nothing is stored in your browser and the summary is laid out to print straight into a board pack.
More about the tool
Who is this tool for?
Estates Directors, Heads of Estates, capital project leads and clinical service managers in NHS Trusts planning a ward, theatre, outpatient or whole block decant.
How we work on decants
We advise on decant options and we deliver the moves, and the connection between the two is what keeps a decant to programme. We work with NHS Trusts across healthcare estates, including backlog maintenance, decanting and fire integrity.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to plan a hospital decant? It depends on the size of the space being vacated and the phasing that follows from it. The larger the area, the more complex and time consuming the planning becomes. The seven phases run from convening a project board to approving a business case, and options assessed before the board is in place tend to be reopened.
- What is the difference between a short term and a long term decant? On a short term decant there may be room to compromise, including adjusting a patient list to suit the temporary accommodation. On a long term decant that flexibility falls away, and the quality of the temporary space has to stand on its own for the whole period.
- What is the difference between a short term and a long term decant? On a short term decant there may be room to compromise, including adjusting a patient list to suit the temporary accommodation. On a long term decant that flexibility falls away, and the quality.
- Who decides whether a decant space is adequate? The project board, which should include senior clinicians, nurses, anaesthetists and heads of department. Adequacy is a clinical judgement rather than a property one, which is why the board is convened in the first phase rather than consulted in a later one.
- Can a hospital decant use non-hospital accommodation? Yes, and it widens the option set considerably. It also moves patient safety from an assumption to something that has to be tested, so the practicality of each non-hospital option should be discussed with clinical teams before it reaches the shortlist.
Talk to our healthcare team
If you are planning a decant and want a view on the options before the business case is written please do get in touch. A short 15-minute conversation is usually the quickest place to start.