18. March 2026

Why NHS clients need a digital strategy, not just a BIM requirement

The New Hospital Programme and Hospital 2.0 are helping push digital delivery further up the agenda on NHS capital projects. Recent official material shows Hospital 2.0 being positioned around standardised design, modern methods of construction and stronger use of digital technology, while recent NHS and NHP related roles point to smart buildings, BIM, data standards and digital governance as core parts of delivery rather than optional extras.

That shift matters because BIM is no longer just a design team issue. On NHS projects, it is becoming part of a much wider conversation about smart buildings, operational data, interoperability, cyber security, asset performance and long term estate management. One recent NHS role linked to a major hospital programme explicitly refers to delivering a smart buildings gap analysis, creating a smart building strategy and developing digital capabilities including BIM, intelligent BMS, asset tracking, integration gateways and intelligent energy.

For NHS trusts and other healthcare estate owners, that should sharpen the focus.

Too often, digital deliverables are still treated as something the supply chain will take care of. A BIM requirement is written into the brief. Models are produced. Data is requested at handover. But if the client has not properly defined what information it needs, why it needs it, how it will be checked and where it will be used, the value quickly starts to fall away.

That is why a smart buildings gap analysis is so important.

A proper gap analysis helps the client understand three things. First, where it is now. Second, what digital capability it actually needs. Third, what needs to change so that project information becomes something useful in operation. In the NHP and smart buildings context, that includes data standards, ownership, interoperability, training, operational readiness and making sure the information produced can be used by the trust rather than sitting in disconnected files and systems.

This is the point many clients miss. They ask for BIM, but they do not always have a clear strategy for what sits behind that ask. They may not have agreed how estates, FM, digital and capital teams will work together. They may not know which data needs to flow into CAFM, IWMS, BMS or other operational systems. They may not have agreed who owns the data, who validates it, how it is maintained or how it supports future change. When that happens, digital delivery becomes a compliance exercise instead of a value exercise.

Hospital 2.0 makes this even more important. It is not simply about delivering a building. It is about creating repeatable approaches, standard products and more consistent outcomes across multiple schemes. The National Audit Office says the standardised Hospital 2.0 approach is expected to bring benefits from enhanced digital technology, and NHS programme roles are clearly tying smart building strategy and BIM into business case and delivery activity.

There is also a wider policy backdrop here. Government’s current property standard says BIM shall be used for government building projects and should add value across design, construction, operation and maintenance. That matters for NHS clients because it reinforces the point that BIM should not be seen as a narrow project modelling task. It is meant to support the whole life of the asset.

In live NHS delivery, that thinking is already showing up more clearly. A recent procurement notice for the new Frimley Park Hospital common data environment refers to programme information control, ISO 19650 information governance, operational readiness and digital continuity. That is a useful sign of where the market is moving. Clients are not just asking for files. They are starting to ask for the governance and structure needed to make digital delivery work properly.

For owner operators, the real question is not whether BIM is being used. The real question is whether the organisation knows what it wants from digital delivery.

Does the trust want better asset information for maintenance planning? Better visibility of systems and equipment? Better energy performance? Better compliance reporting? Better space data? Better links between capital delivery and operational estates? Those are the outcomes that matter. BIM, smart building systems and structured data only have value when they support those outcomes.

That is why NHS clients need a digital strategy, not just a BIM requirement.

A good digital strategy should set out what the organisation is trying to achieve, what information it needs across the asset life cycle, which systems need to connect, what standards should be used and who is accountable for governance. It should also be honest about capability gaps. If the trust does not yet have the internal resource, confidence or process maturity to define and manage digital deliverables, that needs to be addressed early, not left until handover.

In practice, that means bringing digital thinking much closer to the front end of project planning. It means defining information requirements early. It means deciding what good looks like for asset data, model use, smart systems and operational integration before delivery teams start producing outputs. And it means treating digital deliverables as part of a wider client-side strategy for running a better estate.

Because that is where the real value sits.

The NHS is moving into a position where BIM, digital delivery and smart building expectations are becoming more common on major capital schemes. That creates a real opportunity for clients to get more value from the information produced during design and construction. But that value will only be realised if the client understands what it needs, sets the right strategy and takes ownership of the outcome.

In the end, the success of digital delivery on an NHS project is not measured by how much data is created.

It is measured by whether the client can actually use it.