BUPA & SPIRE REACH AGREEMENT ON CONTRACT RENEWAL

RNS Number : 2929W

Spire Healthcare Group PLC

06 November 2014

 



Spire Healthcare Group Plc

6 November 2014

Spire Healthcare Group Plc

("Spire Healthcare Group", "Spire", "the Company" or "the Group")

BUPA & SPIRE REACH AGREEMENT ON CONTRACT RENEWAL

Spire Healthcare Group (LSE: SPI), the second-largest UK independent hospital group, and Bupa UK, the UK's leading private healthcare provider are today pleased to announce a new long-term agreement. Commencing on 1st April 2015 the agreement has a minimum term of four years with prices agreed for the six years through to 31st March 2021.

Through this comprehensive agreement the parties seek to address some of the key challenges faced by their mutual customers. This includes improving affordability particularly for outpatients and measures to build upon the existing high standards of quality of care and customer experience at Spire hospitals. The key terms of the agreement reflect a desire by both parties to encourage increased private healthcare customer volumes.

The agreement covers all of Spire's existing hospitals, including the recently acquired St Anthony's and in addition Bupa is supportive of Spire's future growth plans. Together, Spire and Bupa intend to take forward a Quality Framework with the aim of facilitating greater collaboration between the two parties to further improve quality of care and treatment experience for Bupa's customers.  Both Spire and Bupa are committed to working together to advance these aims and will agree a rolling program of initiatives for both parties to work on for the duration of the agreement.

Rob Roger, Chief Executive of Spire Healthcare, said:

"We are delighted to have concluded this new agreement with Bupa. Following on from the conclusion of the CMA review of the independent healthcare sector, it represents a decisive shift to a more partnership-style approach, the aim of which is to build on the current excellent working relationship between Spire and Bupa, in order to drive volume growth in independent patient numbers, based on affordable healthcare and great clinical outcomes."

Dr Damien Marmion, Managing Director of Bupa Health Funding said:

"We are very pleased to have reached a groundbreaking agreement with Spire. We believe that the new arrangements provide a solid basis to address the affordability of private healthcare while maintaining and surpassing current standards of high quality care for our mutual customers. Going forward, we will be looking to work with other hospital providers in a similar way."

For further information please contact:

Spire Healthcare

Antony Mannion, Investor Relations Director                                                [phone]

Simon Gordon, Chief Financial Officer                                                         [phone]

Bupa Head of Press

Imogen Dunn - [e-mail]                                                     [phone]

Maitland

Martin Barrow                                                                                           [phone]

About Spire

Spire is a leading independent hospital group in the United Kingdom, with 39 hospitals and 13 clinics across England, Wales and Scotland. The Group delivered tailored, personalised care to more than 236,000 in-patients and daycase patients in 2013, and is the leading provider by volume of knee and hip operations in the United Kingdom.

Spire offers in-patient/daycase procedures in areas including orthopaedics, gynaecology, cardiology, neurology, oncology and general surgery and also diagnostic services including imaging and pathology. The Group also offers out-patient services, such as consulting, minor procedures, treatments, health checks and physiotherapy.

About Bupa

Bupa's purpose is longer, healthier, happier lives.

As a leading international healthcare group, we offer health insurance and medical subscription products, run care homes, retirement villages, hospitals, primary care centres and dental clinics. We also provide workplace health services, home healthcare, health assessments and long-term condition management services.

We have over 22m customers in 190 countries. We have no shareholders.

We employ more than 70,000 people, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, Poland, New Zealand and Chile, as well as Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, and the USA.

For more information, visit www.bupa.com 

 

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