Bupa is to buy New Victoria Hospital, an independent private hospital in Kingston upon Thames – its first UK hospital acquisition since 2008.
Bupa said the acquisition, which it anticipates will be completed this summer, will allow patients to have more seamless pathways from primary care services into secondary care facilities. It did not disclose the purchase price.
New Victoria Hospital has 33 beds and specialises in orthopaedics, gynaecology, general surgery and gastroenterology and has state-of-the-art facilities, including 128 slice CT scanning facility, fluoroscopy room and a 1.5 tonne MRI.
It also operates an outpatient and diagnostics department, which provides patients with rapid access to advanced imaging, a cardiac diagnostic facility and a comprehensive endoscopy service.
With recently increased capacity, the hospital also features three new operating theatres.
Bupa Health Services currently operates 88 health clinics across the UK, having successfully acquired The Dermatology Partnership, London Medical and Blackberry Clinics in recent years, alongside Cromwell Hospital in London.
Although the first UK hospital acquisition since acquiring Cromwell Hospital 17 years ago, Bupa has been growing its hospital network. In February last year Health & Protection reported that Bupa had added Practice Plus Group to its hospital network.
Sarah Melia, general manager for Bupa Health Services, said: “We’re delighted to be acquiring New Victoria Hospital and expanding our hospital services further across London.
“The acquisition enables us to provide more Bupa services directly to our customers and makes it easier to move from diagnosis into treatment, so that patients get fast access to the care they need.
“We look forward to working together and sharing clinical excellence and expertise across multiple specialties.”
David Marshall, CEO at New Victoria Hospital, said: “We’re very pleased to join the Bupa family.
“Bupa is a great fit for us as we share similar values and cultures, with a strong long-term commitment to putting customers first.
“I’m excited to see how we can continue to grow together and strengthen our treatment pathways for our patients.
“I want to reassure patients that all appointments and surgeries are going ahead as planned and they will continue to receive the same high-quality care as they always do at New Victoria Hospital.”