Circle Opens Second New-Build Hospital in Reading

Circle Holdings plc

Circle Opens Second New-Build Hospital in Reading

Circle Holdings plc (LSE: CIRC), the vehicle that enables financial institutions to invest in Circle, the healthcare enterprise co-owned by the largest partnership of doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals in the UK, will open its second new-build hospital tomorrow in the heart of Reading.

The £60m building programme for CircleReading started in January 2011, and the hospital will open on time and on budget. Nearly 100 hospital staff and over 110 consultants have been recruited to work at CircleReading, and they will all officially be partners under Circle's employee ownership scheme.

CircleReading has received full recognition and accreditation from the hospital quality regulator, the Care Quality Commission, NHS commissioners to treat Choose and Book patients through the Any Qualified Provider scheme, and all major private medical insurers.

The hospital boasts 5 state of the art digital operating theatres, 50 patient beds and 130 free parking spaces. It has been kitted out with cutting-edge medical equipment, including a latest generation MRI scanner, digital scanning mammography, digital x-ray room and diagnostic ultrasound machine, through a leasing arrangement with Circle's long-term finance and equipment partner GE Capital.

The iconic building was constructed with a brief to combine clinical excellence with five star hospitality, and offers a wide range of non-emergency tests and operations in luxury surroundings. The team at CircleReading are so confident about the quality of their service that they are guaranteeing patient experience with a money-back scheme, promising to reimburse self-funding patients if they are let down by their experience.

The design concept at CircleReading was to create a 'healing environment', with airy spaces, natural wood timber floors, internal trees, planted courtyards, and natural light. The hospital group say they believe in putting the 'hospitality' back into hospitals, and have recruited two chefs from a Michelin starred restaurant to cook high quality, locally sourced food for patients and visitors.

Circle's first new-build hospital, CircleBath, has proved Circle's concept that patients are prepared to travel outside their locality for a first-class hospital experience, with patients travelling from as far as Bristol and London for treatments at the award-winning hospital. Within easy reach of West London, Hampshire and Oxford, CircleReading expects to see patients from across the South of England.

Ali Parsa, Circle's Chief Executive, said: 'Our multiple-award winning hospital in Bath has shown that hospitals can be better. At CircleReading, we want to prove the same to patients in Berkshire. Our partnership of local doctors and healthcare professionals has come together with the single aim of setting new standards of clinical excellence and hospital experience. We believe hospitals can be better, and it's too important not to try.'

Notes to editors:

·; Circle's partnership model has delivered high levels of staff engagement in Circle's existing hospitals, with 9 out of 10 staff recommending working at Circle to their friends and family. 

·; The dedication to patient care in Circle hospitals is reflected in zero reported cases of MRSA, and a record on returns to surgery because of complications nearly 2 times better than other private hospitals. This quality of care prompted 99% out of nearly 50 000 patients surveyed to say they would recommend CircleBath to friends and family. 

·; CircleBath was designed by renowned architects Foster and Partners, and has won numerous awards including 'Best Public Space' globally, 'Best Building' in the British Construction Industry Awards, and 'Best Customer Service' in the Bath Business Awards. CircleBath

·; Building on the success of the acclaimed CircleBath building, the Reading hospital is the next step on Circle's journey to realise its ambition to deliver 5 star "hospitals in a box", a kit of factory made parts that can be assembled like lego on site. At Reading the structural frame and pre-cast concrete slabs were assembled in a matter of weeks and then major plant modules and bathrooms (also manufactured in a factory) were lifted into the building and plugged in. The result has been a sustainable building delivered at 30% less cost and proportionally 40% less time than typical NHS building projects.

·; Design Team:

o Architects, Structural and M&E Engineers - Brydenwood

o Development Partner's - REUT & Circle

o Project Manager & Cost Manager - F&G

o Interior Designer - DesignING

o Main Contractor - Vinci UK

o M&E Contractor - NG Bailey

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