Doctor-centric group to open new outpost in Cambridge
By Robin Stride
Private consultants and their partners have announced ambitious £55m plans to complete a ‘golden triangle’ of independent care facilities covering major university cities.
Welbeck Health Partners’ latest announcement is for a £25m centre to be opened in Cambridge next year as part of the group’s long-term strategy to operate regional day facilities across the UK.
(L-R) Katherine Friend, director, investment and asset management, Howard Group; Andrew Chadwick-Jones, chief executive Welbeck Health Partners; Peter Harper, chair Welbeck Health Partners; Mr Oliver Wiseman, consultant urologist, Welbeck Health Partners
This follows the unveiling of plans earlier this year to bring its brand to Oxford with a £30m development also due to come on stream in 2025.
Both are promising patients ‘an unrivalled healthcare experience’ and follow the success of the flagship OneWelbeck centre opened in London in 2019, which works with over 350 clinicians who see more than 100,000 patients a year across a range of specialties.
Chief executive Andrew Chadwick-Jones said: ‘As one of the world’s leading locations for academic healthcare, selecting Cambridge for our newest practice was a natural fit for our model of partnering with world-class clinicians.
Golden triangle
‘Geographically, Cambridge is close to our other centres in Oxford and London and completes the ‘golden triangle’ for us, meaning we can widen access to our services to more people across the south of England.’
Consultant urologist Mr Oliver Wiseman added: ‘I am thrilled to confirm we will be opening Welbeck Cambridge next year. We have ambitious plans to build a centre of excellence, delivering exceptional patient-centred care in a state-of-the-art facility.
‘Welbeck Health Partners operates in partnership with clinicians like me to harness their expertise and investment in the highest- quality facilities for patients.
‘This means regional Welbeck centres like Welbeck Cambridge will be able to offer the most up-to-date services and treatments based on the real wants and needs of local people. This approach helps us to better serve our patients and deliver an unrivalled standard of private healthcare.’
Fantastic location
Welbeck has leased the new 32,000-square-foot Orion Building at property developer Howard Group’s Unity Campus and plans a range of medical services across more than 15 specialties, including orthopaedics, heart health, digestive health, ENT, urology, gynecology and ophthalmology.
This is south of Cambridge city centre giving ‘excellent access from the M11 and ample parking’.
Mr Chadwick-Jones called the site ‘a fantastic location’ due to the medical and scientific collaboration and innovation already happening on the Unity Campus.
‘We believe our commitment to delivering the highest standards of patient-centred care and cutting-edge technology and practices will help set us apart from other healthcare providers in Cambridge and have a positive impact on the local community.’
Welbeck’s Oxbridge plan part of its ethos
Welbeck Health Partners’ vision from the start has been to transform patient care through the use of new technologies to detect disease earlier and enable minimally invasive interventions, with the patient returning home the same day.
Consultants at Welbeck Oxford, in the north of the city, will offer 12 different specialties including heart and lung health, digestive health, ENT, endoscopy and neurology.
Mr Andrew Chadwick-Jones
The success of OneWelbeck in London proved there was a growing demand for private healthcare that has a patient-centred approach, according to chief executive Mr Andrew Chadwick-Jones.
He explained: ‘Oxford is a globally renowned hub for medical research and healthcare excellence.
‘We have been looking at expansion opportunities for some time and the quality of talent that already exists within the community of healthcare professionals in the city made it a desirable destination for us.
‘We have the ambition to partner with the renowned Oxford medical professionals to improve the health provision in the local area, and develop Oxford as a health destination nationally and internationally.’
The group’s aim is to deliver the highest standards of patient care across the UK and internationally, which it believes starts with ‘partnering with world-class clinicians who truly understand the needs of their patients’.
Mr Chadwick-Jones said clinician partners invest and oversee the management and long-term strategy of the business. This allows them to make informed decisions on the services and infrastructure needed to best serve patients in their communities.
‘We believe our commitment to innovation, best practices and patient centered care will help set us apart in Oxford and we hope it will become the ‘go to’ private healthcare centre in the region, nationally and, in due course, internationally.’