What is really going on in politics? Get our daily email briefing straight to your inbox Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

While Theresa May trumpets her "stable leadership", there's a story that is simmering hotter and hotter online.

It's the Naylor Review - a dry 46-page NHS estate rationalisation study published two months ago.

So why has this boring-sounding document become news now?

And should be worried about it?

We've looked through the document and talked to critics to sort fact from fiction - and tell you what it really means.

What is the Naylor Report?

(Image: Surrey Advertiser)

Well, technically it's called the Naylor Review.

It is a 46-page report published on March 31 by Sir Robert Naylor, former boss of the NHS trust that runs University College London Hospital.

Tory Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt asked him to look independently at what should be done with 'surplus' NHS property and crumbling old buildings.

Now, in the main bit of Sir Robert's dossier, he recommends selling around £2billion of NHS land to build 26,000 homes. This could hit £5billion if extended to "high-value" sites in London.

This could equal 5 million square metres of NHS estate - more than three times the size of London's Hyde Park. Ideas in the report include selling part of car parks and making the other part multi-storey.

The report suggests getting rid of inefficient buildings will let the NHS save £500million a year in maintenance and fund backlogged repairs, currently worth about £5billion.

NHS land is controlled by publicly-owned firm NHS Property Services Ltd since the Tories' last controversial shake-up - the Health and Social Care Act. New homes would be prioritised for NHS staff.

Why is it news now?

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

In a little-noticed comment at the time, Theresa May confirmed the Tories will back the report if they win the election.

She told the BBC's Andrew Neil: "There’s a report that was done on the NHS, the Naylor Report, which set out what was needed.

"And we’re backing the proposals in the Naylor Report."

She said it would release £10billion from "a variety of sources", including land sales, to fund "the most ambitious programme on investment and buildings and technology the NHS has ever seen".

That triggered a slow building of online reaction, with a video about it shared by singer Charlotte Church and a story being shared on left-wing site Evolve Politics.

Why is it controversial?

Hospitals that don't sell land will be punished

Providers that fail to draw up "sufficiently stretching plans... should not be granted access to capital funding," the report says.

That means building and repair projects face being strangled off if they don't flog some of their land.

And they'll be 'bribed' to sell up fast

The report calls for "urgent action to accelerate" land sales.

So hospitals will get a "2-for-1 offer" - meaning if a hospital gets a sale, the government steps in and doubles the cash.

This bonus money would be paid to the hospitals - not to private developers - supposedly to finance building projects.

But the cash will be offered on a "first come first served basis" for a limited time, probably five years.

This has sparked fears of hospitals selling off land to private developers cheaply, or in a badly thought-through way, in their rush to get the funds.

Campaigners say it's a "bribe" to shed NHS assets quickly.

(Image: Coventry Telegraph)

Hospitals are so starved of cash, they have little choice

"The general consensus is that the current NHS capital investment is insufficient to fund transformation and maintain the current estate," the report says.

Critics fear land that isn't truly 'surplus' will be sold

Deborah Harrington, of the National Health Action Party, claimed: “It’s simply not true that all of this land and all of these buildings are surplus to requirements. The truth is that this is the biggest ever drive to sell off the assets of the NHS in its history."

Campaigners fear it's a blueprint to 'sell off the NHS'

Dr Kailash Chand, the former deputy chair of the British Medical Association, branded the Naylor Report "an outline to sell off the NHS."

He added: "Hospitals, clinics and other NHS property are squarely in the sights of the purchasers.

"Theresa May has given us a huge clue as to how her government would finance ‘improvements’ to NHS services, and they’re absolutely scandalous.”

It's all tied to a £22bn cutbacks drive

The plan is to be developed "through local Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs)." These are the controversial blueprints, opposed by Labour, to deliver £22billion of "efficiency savings" and even plan to downgrade some A&Es.

And finally... where we are now is blamed on NHS shake-ups and privatisation

There's a particularly revealing passage in the report.

It says: "Those with long memories will recollect that the various estate functions, particularly building and engineering were well represented at the senior levels of regional, area and district health authorities during much of the history of the NHS.

"Successive reorganisations of the NHS have seriously eroded these capabilities to the extent that they hardly exist today.

"This has resulted in substantial reliance on external advice and serious deficiencies in strategic estate planning.

"Continuous reform has eroded estates capabilities and increased reliance on the private sector."

(Image: Cultura RF)

So what do supporters say?

Nigel Edwards, of health think tank The Nuffield Trust, said the NHS has “a lot of money tied up in land and buildings”.

He told The Independent: "Poor use of the estate can make being cared for a frustrating and uncomfortable experience for patients.

"Selling or generating income from surplus property no longer needed for patient care creates funds that can be invested to improve services.

"So the proposals under consideration, if done well, should help, not hinder the NHS in caring for more patients."

What do Labour say?

Labour’s shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said: "Under the Tories hospitals are crumbling.

"The Tory response is to now sell off buildings and land with no explanation of when the NHS will see a penny piece of the proceeds."

What do the Tories say?

(Image: PA)

A Conservative source said: “On the back of a strong economy, we are promising the biggest ever investment in NHS buildings and technology, £10billion, that will help to transform the quality of care for patients.

“In truth the only way to increase funding for the NHS and our public services is to get the right Brexit deal in order to grow the economy, something only Theresa May can deliver.”