LycaHealth buys new hospital in Kent
By Robin Stride
A £140m investment in private healthcare – mainly in the South-east – has been announced by LycaHealth.
The company, founded six years ago, has kicked off by adding KIMS Hospital in Maidstone, Kent, and an associated medical centre in Sevenoaks to its units already operating in London.
It said the investment would support KIMS hospital’s ambition to expand services and accessibility within and beyond the county.
KIMS Hospital, opened only in 2014, has 72 en-suite bedrooms, 20 day-care beds, 17 consultation/examination rooms, six operating theatres and six outpatient treatment rooms. Consultants also run orthopaedic clinics in Whitstable, Faversham and Ashford.
LycaHealth as a majority shareholder has pledged to upgrade the hospital’s technology and facilities for existing and future enhanced services, including supporting the growth of cancer care, treatment and recovery facilities. It already has centres in Canary Wharf and Orpington, including recently opened breast and screening diagnostic centres.
LycaHealth founder and chairwoman Prema Subaskaran said the company believed the private sector should work hand in hand with the NHS.
‘Our investment in KIMS hospital is a step towards us achieving our long-term goal to provide a complete pathway from diagnosis through to treatment and aftercare for those patients that require it.
‘Working with the KIMS team, we’ll be able to improve access to tech and strengthen the facilities on offer that ultimately improve each patient’s individual route to care, providing the best affordable healthcare for the local community.’
KIMS Hospital chief executive Simon James said the new backing provided ‘an excellent opportunity to build on our success to date’.
- See ‘A hospital’s first steps’