World class facilities, campus feel, access to cutting-edge technologies, and paid study leave. If you think this is a description of the latest tech startup’s newest offerings, think again. On 24 April, London Bridge Hospital, part of private hospital group HCA Healthcare UK, opened the latest extension to its campus: a 63,000 square foot facility on the top four floors of the Cancer Centre at Guy’s. Healthcare professionals looking for your next career move, take note: the facility also offers “some pretty spectacular views of London”.
“The facilities at the new campus will be really impressive,” says Richard Goatman, associate chief nursing officer at London Bridge Hospital. Having worked as a matron with an NHS hospital for two years, Goatman says his transition from the NHS to private care was smooth. With the extension at London Bridge Hospital plus several other new facilities opening this year including an oncology inpatient ward at The Lister Hospital, and a new outpatient and diagnostic centre in Chelsea, there will be plenty of opportunity for candidates from both private and NHS backgrounds to join HCA UK.
Standing out
For staff, there’s the chance to learn from highly experienced consultants, a low nurse to patient ratio (four patients per shift and one to one in intensive care), and great training and development opportunities. Goatman himself benefited from one of HCA UK’s leadership courses which he says put him on the career path that was best for him.
What else sets HCA UK apart from other hospital groups? Working in private care means the opportunity to interact with more international patients and, says Goatman, lots of opportunity to learn new skills. For example, an oncology nurse could train up to work in haematology, an area HCA Healthcare UK has top consultants working in.
HCA UK also offers training opportunities for further development in addition to soft benefits including access to private healthcare, travel cards, relocation support, not to mention being in one of the most vibrant parts of London with excellent transport links.
The facilities
The £38.2m campus extension of London Bridge Hospital will offer quality services both for patients and staff. “It’s a brand new, state-of-the-art centre, which will include its own lab and pharmacy,” says Goatman. “There’ll also be four theatres, two inpatient floors and an 18-chair chemo day unit: in short, everything we need to provide exceptional care for our patients.”
The bespoke facility will offer treatment and surgery in gynaecology, urology and breast. For patients needing reconstructive surgery within these specialties, that will be available too. London Bridge Hospital’s cancer treatment services will also be transferred into the new facility, meaning all cancer services will now be in one place.
The facility will also be home to the UK’s first integrated robotics theatre with a da Vinci robot. Using the da Vinci system, the surgeon sits at a console and has a 3D, high-definition view inside the patient’s body. As the surgeon moves their hands, robotic instruments translate those movements into smaller actions which are more precise and flexible than a human hand could ever be. At the new facility, the da Vinci robot will be used to perform urology procedures which are minimally invasive.
Wider investments and broad opportunities
Private Care at Guy’s is part of a wider investment in the London Bridge Hospital campus and across the HCA UK network. The intensive therapy unit and theatre facilities will also be expanded. In January 2016, to the tune of £30m, an outpatients and diagnostics centre at the Shard opened its doors. The hospital also operates five additional outpatient and diagnostic centres across the City, Canary Wharf and Kent.
Goatman emphasises that the collaborative nature and joined up approach of the HCA UK network means staff have even more opportunity to sharpen their skills and advance their careers. It’s an “exciting place to work,” he says, “forever growing and developing so you can do the same.” And what sort of candidates are they looking to attract? “We want someone who is dedicated – wants a different challenge, new career and development pathway,” he adds.
In addition to training opportunities for staff, HCA UK offers a programme of free events for GPs, both within and outside the organisation, to share learning and best practice from across the wider healthcare sector. This year, consultant physicians and surgeons including those from leading NHS teaching hospitals, will host free talks centred around their specialism. HCA UK has also launched an ambitious new fellowship programme for junior doctors.
£200m has been invested back into the HCA UK network of hospitals over the last five years; all part of their strategy to raise standards and continue providing cutting-edge care. In parallel, from a resourcing point of view, this inwardly focused strategy comes through. Concludes Goatman, “HCA UK invests in their staff and it’s very evident.”
