The Sulis Hospital, located in Peasedown St John near Bath, has marked its first anniversary after being acquired by the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust.
Celebrating the 1st anniversary | Photo courtesy of Sulis Hospital
The hospital is the UK’s first private hospital where 100% of the shares are owned by an NHS Trust.
Sulis Hospital, formerly known as CircleBath before the acquisition, continues to offer the same high standards of care for both private and NHS patients.
The Sulis Hospital embraces and uses nature in its built environment to enhance wellbeing and improve recovery times for patients.
Originally designed by Foster and Partners, the hospital’s flexible design has allowed the building to adapt to the changing needs of Covid-19 safe pathways and deliver a holistic approach to healthcare.
The hospital’s private patient care model benefits all by allowing any additional income, earned through private care, to be reinvested in services for all patients at the NHS Trust’s two hospitals, Sulis and the RUH.
Staff at the private hospital | Photo courtesy of Sulis Hospital
Last year’s acquisition has grown the hospital’s services, increasing capacity for both NHS and private patients, which has helped to address increasing waiting lists.
Simon Milner, Hospital Director Sulis Hospital said: “This is a new way of thinking in healthcare, benefiting all. Collaboration with the RUH NHS Trust has excellent benefits.
“The true value of our ability to preserve and contribute towards the NHS while at the same time offering the same high level of private patient care is being realised.
“We benefit in terms of governance and best practice while at the same time creating extra capacity to treat NHS patients.
“Our vision is to drive innovation in healthcare, transforming how patients are diagnosed, treated, and rehabilitated. Nationally acclaimed consultant surgeons choose to see and treat patients at Sulis Hospital because we’re different, attracting patients from around the UK.
“Sulis Hospital offers over 350 treatments across 40 different specialities from cardiology to orthopaedic and ophthalmology to general surgery.
“A combination of new surgical techniques, including robotic hip and knee surgery, and advances in anaesthesia has led to a shift to same-day surgery for common procedures facilitating a faster recovery for our patients.”
Cara Charles-Barks, Chief Executive Royal United Hospital said: “The RUH and Sulis have a long-established positive relationship highlighted in 2020 when Sulis Hospital provided a COVID secure environment for RUH elective and cancer patients.
“The collaborative approach has helped cut NHS waiting times not just at the RUH but across Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire with over 1,000 NHS patients waiting for over 2 years, being seen and treated at Sulis over the past 12 months, taking them off the waiting list.”
Tessa Cox, a private patient at Sulis Hospital said: “I chose to be seen and treated at Sulis Hospital privately as I didn’t want to wait, however I was also aware that by opting to go private I was making space on the NHS waiting list for someone else.
“What I hadn’t realised but am delighted to understand is that as Sulis is owned by the RUH therefore any profits go back into the local health economy supporting both hospitals.
“It means I was contributing to the NHS not taking from it. This really is unique.”
