Spire Healthcare Group plc
("Spire Healthcare", "the Company" or "the Group")
Statement re: Heads of Terms signed with NHS England to provide COVID-19 support
23 March 2020
Further to the announcement by NHS England on 21 March 2020 and subsequent announcement by Spire Healthcare, the Group confirms it has signed Heads of Terms with NHS England to make its facilities and services available to the NHS and its patients during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Heads of Terms detail
As part of the agreement, and in line with the entire independent hospital sector, Spire Healthcare will assist NHS England from Monday 23 March, for a minimum period of 14 weeks, and then on a rolling basis terminable by NHS England on one month's notice.
Spire Healthcare will use the first week to prepare its colleagues and facilities for full use by the NHS, while it continues to treat NHS and private elective patients where appropriate. From 30 March Spire Healthcare will make available the entire capacity of its 35 hospitals in England to the NHS.
Spire Healthcare will receive cost recovery for its services, including operating costs, overheads, use of assets, rent and interest less a deduction for any private elective care provided.
Payments to Spire Healthcare will be made weekly in advance. An independent accounting firm will be appointed to manage and assure costs and payments and to ensure information for each provider is kept separate and confidential.
Primary care is excluded from the agreement. Spire Healthcare's private GP service will continue as normal. We will be extending video consultation as part of this service for the ease and protection of our patients.
Suspension of certain procedures
Spire Healthcare has also taken the clinical decision to suspend certain procedures from 5:00am on Friday 20 March. This includes all non-urgent elective surgery for patients over the age of 70 and vulnerable patients with co-morbidities. This decision follows the latest government advice and is designed to protect vulnerable patients whilst also creating additional capacity to support the NHS.
Outlook
The agreement with NHS England will provide Spire Healthcare with sufficient liquidity and financial stability during the COVID-19 outbreak to continue to provide outstanding personalised care to its patients. Given the lack of visibility on the length of contract, and on the potential volume of elective surgery we will receive afterwards, we are unable to determine the full financial impact at this stage. The Spire Healthcare Board therefore believes it is prudent to withdraw the guidance for FY20 given on 5 March 2020. The agreement allows for sufficient notice to prepare for the resumption of private and NHS elective care in the normal manner once the COVID-19 peak has passed. Spire Healthcare should then be in a strong position to meet the demand arising from the period of elective suspension.
We are committed to supporting NHS England in combatting the COVID-19 outbreak and will update the market when further information is available.
For further information please contact:
Spire Healthcare Cora McCallum, Head of Investor Relations |
+44 (0)7967 109 731 |
Instinctif Partners Damian Reece Guy Scarborough Jeremy Durrant |
+44 (0)7931 598 593 +44 (0)7917 178 920 +44 (0)7792 918 648 |
Registered Office and Head Office:
Spire Healthcare Group plc
3 Dorset Rise
London
EC4Y 8EN
Registered number 09084066
About Spire Healthcare
Spire Healthcare is a leading independent hospital group in the United Kingdom, with 39 private hospitals and 8 clinics across England, Wales and Scotland.
Working in partnership with around 7,300 experienced consultants, Spire Healthcare delivered tailored, personalised care to approximately 810,000 in-patients and daycase patients in 2019, and is the leading private provider, by volume, of knee and hip operations in the United Kingdom.
The Group's well located and scalable hospitals have delivered successful and award-winning clinical outcomes, positioning the Group well with patients, consultants, the NHS, GPs and Private Medical Insurance ("PMI") providers. 85% of Spire Healthcare's hospitals are rated 'Good' or 'Outstanding' by the CQC (or the equivalent in Scotland and Wales).
Spire Healthcare treats patients through a variety of routes including PMI, Self-pay and the NHS, providing the Group with diversified access to the expected growth opportunities in the UK healthcare market, which faces significant supply challenges as a result of NHS budget constraints and increasing demand from a growing population with longer life expectancy.
