New hospital could help tackle NHS backlog
A new £5million private hospital has opened its doors in West Lothian and bosses hope it can help tackle the growing NHS backlog.
State-of-the-art St Ellen’s hospital was unveiled at Kirkton Campus in Livingston and will be operated by Cosmedicare UK, one of the fastest growing privatelyowned cosmetic surgery providers – although it will provide a wide range of other medical specialities.
Self-funded by the company’s founder and managing director, Gill Baird MBA, St Ellen’s offers two general anaesthetic theatres with private en-suite recovery rooms, five theatres – including a laser and endoscopy suit – recovery wards and treatment rooms for minor operations.
Boasting the largest private theatre space in Scotland, it is home to the most advanced equipment and specialist services for patients in the country.
With the surge in self-pay patients looking to prioritise and access procedures on the back of the pandemic, St Ellen’s has one of the most recognised, multi-disciplinary medical and management teams of consultants, surgeons and practitioners in the private sector and NHS.
The hospital specialises in all surgical procedures and reconstructions covering face, breast, body, gynae, gender reassignment, private GP services, as well as intensive laser
therapies and hand and eye burns treatments, with a view to allowing self-pay healthcare to become accessible and affordable to the majority, without the need for private medical insurance.
Gill Baird said: “Cosmedicare was founded five years ago and we have grown the business exponentially, with 2021 a pivotal year with the opening of St Ellen’s – named after my grandmother.
“It was a long-standing ambition of mine to independently own and operate a private hospital so it’s a fantastic feeling to finally open.
“Having previously worked within both public and private healthcare facilities at management level, I always knew I wanted to enable change to help people. Patients often don’t
have much input into their care or realise the difference between what separates a good medical service from a great one.
“Our main point of difference from the existing competition is our unique approach to patient care and our culture, which has been created through our own experiences with Cosmedicare, and carries through to the hospital.
“It’s the transparency, trust and communication, not only between the team which facilitate the care, but between the patient and surgeon, that has been vital in ensuring our patients feel listened to, valued and involved in their healthcare journey.
“There has been speculation that St Ellen’s will be a purely cosmetic surgery related facility, however this hospital has been created to allow us to expand into other medical specialities, growing not only our team of Cosmedicare surgeons and specialities, but also to allow us to welcome independent surgeons under the historical practicing privileges system which governs private hospitals in the UK.
“In addition to this, our ability to provide a bespoke support service to these surgeons, will empower them to treat their patients in the same patient-centred pathway we adopt as our own, without limitations on theatre allocation which is currently being experienced in the UK as a result of covid and NHS backlogs – this is something we expect will be an attractive prospects to surgeons and patients alike.”
Medical director and consultant plastic and reconstruction surgeon, Mr Daniel Widdowson, added: “St Ellen’s offers a diverse healthcare provision and unique approach to patient care.
“Growing St Ellen’s to offer even more complex and reconstructive services than we could at the Edinburgh Park facility has been an exciting journey.
“The facilities, from a surgical perspective, are second to none and have been designed in conjunction with the medical team and patient experience in mind.
“We look forward to welcoming clients and surpassing their expectations of private healthcare.”