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BMI Healthcare was an independent provider of private healthcare, offering treatment to private patients, medically insured patients, and
NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
patients. , it had 54
private hospital A private hospital is a hospital not owned by the government, including for-profits and non-profits. Funding is by patients themselves ("self-pay"), by insurers, or by foreign embassies. Private hospitals are commonly part, albeit in varying degr ...
s and healthcare facilities across the UK, with headquarters in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. In December 2019, it was acquired by a parent company of
Circle Health Circle Health Group is a private healthcare provider in the United Kingdom, co-founded in 2004 by former investment banker Ali Parsa and consultant ophthalmologist Massoud Fouladi. The company is currently led by former lastminute.com Financ ...
and was replaced by Circle Health Group in 2022.


History

BMI Healthcare was formed in 1970, when US hospital group AMI acquired its first hospital in the UK, the Harley Street Clinic. By 1983, the AMI group had grown to 13 hospitals and by 1988 had created a psychiatric division, health services division and floated on the
London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
. In 1990, AMI was purchased by then Generale des Eaux. AMI was renamed BMI Healthcare in 1993 and its new corporate group named
General Healthcare Group General Healthcare Group PLC (GHG) is a British healthcare company. It owns BMI Healthcare. BMI operates 54 hospitals and clinics in the United Kingdom. History The name "General Healthcare Group" dates to 1993, when AMI, a US for-profit hospi ...
. In 1997 funds managed by
Cinven Cinven is a global private equity firm founded in 1977, with offices in nine international locations in Guernsey, London, New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Luxembourg, Madrid, and Hong Kong that acquires Europe and United States based corporat ...
acquired GHG. After a further period of expansion GHG merged with Amicus Healthcare group in 1998 and the group grew its portfolio to over 40 hospitals. In 2000, Cinven sold its investment to funds advised by
BC Partners BC Partners is a British international investment firm with over $40 billion of assets under management across private equity, credit and real estate in Europe and North America. Its global headquarters are in London. The firm invests across all ...
and in 2005 BMI Healthcare's health services,
Occupational Health Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...
division was sold to the Capita Group. GHG was bought from BC Partners by a consortium led by
Netcare Netcare Limited is a South African private healthcare company. It operates through a number of subsidiaries and employs just over 21 000 people. The group offers a range of medical services across the healthcare spectrum and operates South ...
(Network Healthcare Holdings Limited), a large South African Healthcare company, in 2006. In April 2018, Netcare announced it was to sell its 57% stake because it had failed to conclude a rent reduction transaction with the largest landlord on 35 of its 59 hospital properties. In October 2018, it was announced that it had agreed a deal with its creditors and landlords, including Hospital Topco, which involved injecting capital of at least £58million, extending the company's bank facilities to 2024 and reducing annual rent by £65M. This would bring its operations and 35 hospitals back under common ownership. In 2011, Stephen Collier was appointed chief executive. BMI showed a strong performance in its 2013 financial year, with revenue up by 2.1% (to £851.3M). In October 2017, Karen Prins was appointed Chief Executive Officer. Prins was an appointment from parent company Netcare based in South Africa. In November 2019, it was reported that
Circle Health Circle Health Group is a private healthcare provider in the United Kingdom, co-founded in 2004 by former investment banker Ali Parsa and consultant ophthalmologist Massoud Fouladi. The company is currently led by former lastminute.com Financ ...
, a smaller competitor, planned to acquire the company.


Operations and services

As a private healthcare provider, the bulk of BMI Healthcare's revenue was generated through the treatment of insured and self-pay patients, with many being surgical in nature. As with other private healthcare providers in 2012/13, recessionary pressures led to declining numbers of private patients, and an increased push towards securing NHS funded business. It also offered health services to corporate clients, providing health assessments, on-site education days,
physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...
, GP services, occupational health services and
flu Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...
clinics to company employees. In April 2019, the firm closed the Somerfield Hospital in
Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...
. Fernbrae Hospital in
Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
is to close in May 2019.


NHS contracts

In May 2014, Brent
clinical commissioning group Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were NHS organisations set up by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to organise the delivery of NHS services in each of their local areas in England. On 1 July 2022 they were abolished and replaced by Integra ...
(CCG)) awarded a £5.8million ophthalmology contract to BMI Healthcare after a two-year hold up caused by complaints about the CCG's procurement procedure. The Woodlands Hospital in Darlington was used by
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for the management of two North East hospitals, James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, and Friarage Hospital in Northallerton. In July 2019 a merger with North Tees and Hartlep ...
to help with elective surgery capacity problems, usually in the winter. This often involves the same surgeon working on a Sunday. 70% of the hospital's work is NHS funded. In 2017 around £370M of the firm's income, 42%, came from NHS-funded work.


International work

BMI Healthcare saw increased numbers of international patients in recent years, with most international patients receiving treatment at London-based hospitals. The majority of patients BMI Healthcare treats were government sponsored from the Gulf regions of the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
. Insured patients living or travelling in the UK and self-paying patients from abroad made up the remainder of the international market BMI Healthcare treats.
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, formerly known as Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust is the organisation which runs Derriford Hospital, and the co-located Royal Eye Infirmary (REI), as well as the Child Development Centre in Plymouth, Devon. ...
had a contract for cardiac surgery performed by the trust's own surgeons at the London Independent Hospital. This was mainly valve replacements and coronary artery bypass grafts. Patients usually spent 5–8 days in hospital and are admitted the night before to take account of travelling.


Corporate Affairs and Culture


Philanthropy

In 2013, BMI Healthcare launched the Big Health Pledge to raise awareness of the UK's five biggest preventable killers:
lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...
,
heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...
,
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
,
liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Signs and symptoms Some of the sig ...
and
stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
. It sought to promote healthier living through a range of initiatives in order to lessen the impact these diseases have on the British population. From 9 to 27 September 2013, BMI Healthcare supported participants taking part in Ask Italian's Grand tour, raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. BMI Healthcare provided nurses and physiotherapists to ensure those taking part remained injury free for the length of the tour.


Awards

At the 2013 Independent Healthcare Awards run by Laing & Buisson, consultants from BMI Healthcare were shortlisted in the Innovation, Outstanding Contribution, Risk Management and
Nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
Practice categories. Annie Ollivierre-Smith, catheter laboratory manager and lead cardiac nurse at BMI The London Independent Hospital, won nurse of the year 2013, at the ''Nursing Times'' awards. She was the first nurse ever from the private sector to win the award. In 2011, BMI Healthcare became the first private healthcare provider in the UK to be awarded VTE (
Venous Thromboembolism Venous thrombosis is blockage of a vein caused by a thrombus (blood clot). A common form of venous thrombosis is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), when a blood clot forms in the deep veins. If a thrombus breaks off (embolizes) and flows to the lungs to ...
) exemplar status across all of its sites, recognising its efforts to reduce the health risks associated with
Deep Vein Thrombosis Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enla ...
and
Pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain p ...
. BMI Healthcare benefited greatly from the expertise of King's Thrombosis Centre, leading to the creation of a National Thrombosis Team tasked with the implementation of VTE prevention policies across BMI Healthcare Hospitals.


See also

*
Private medicine in the UK Private healthcare in the UK, where universal state-funded healthcare is provided by the National Health Service, is a niche market. The provision of private healthcare has created a significant reduction in waitlists for certain users. However, ...


References

{{Reflist Companies based in the London Borough of Southwark Private medicine in the United Kingdom Private providers of NHS services