HCA HEALTHCARE UK

THE CHANGING FACE OF HEALTHCARE… AT HCA UK

The future of medicine is ever more personalised and minimally invasive. Techniques such as gene sequencing, selective internal radiotherapy and imaging, and robotics allow interventions and surgery that are tailored to the patient’s condition and speed up their recovery. In partnership with London’s world-class teaching hospitals and consultants, and by investing in the latest technology, HCA Healthcare UK, is at the forefront of medicine for the treatment of the most complex and rare conditions

World-leading hospitals and consultants

As the UK’s largest private medical provider for complex conditions, HCA UK delivers the highest standards of healthcare across six hospitals and three NHS partnerships – soon to be four, with a new £100 million hospital on the campus of Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

2,500 consultants from the UK’s NHS teaching hospitals and other prestigious institutions around the world help pioneer treatments that improve patient outcomes. HCA UK is committed to constant investment in the facilities and technology needed to support these consultants and the delivery of care at every step of a patient’s journey – from state-of-the-art hybrid theatres to Level 3 intensive care beds and the latest imaging technologies.

Our hospitals: The Harley Street Clinic | The Lister Hospital | London Bridge Hospital | The Portland Hospital The Princess Grace Hospital | The Wellington Hospital

Advances in minimally invasive techniques

Using robotic surgical technology, HCA Healthcare UK surgeons carry out minimally invasive procedures across a wider range of specialisms, making the latest techniques accessible to more and more patients

Robotic surgical technology, along with options such as laparoscopic and endoscopic treatments, give surgeons a greater number of approaches. HCA UK aims to oer a minimally invasive option, where appropriate, so patients can recover more quickly, require less pain relief and return to their normal lives sooner.

Surgery using the da Vinci ® robotic system

There is no doubt that robotic surgery, already a force in urology, is being followed by other specialties as we add to the tools and approaches surgeons have for achieving better outcomes. This new generation of surgeons, uniquely skilled in robotic surgery, are changing the face of intervention and invasive surgery – radically reducing length of stay. Newer specialties include:

Head and neck (Trans Oral Robotic Surgery - TORS) – The robotic technology allows surgeons to locate and remove small growths in the throat and mouth without invasive cuts in the neck and face (these are often hard-to-locate primary cancers). This significantly reduces the risk of damage to nerves and blood vessels, with the obvious benefits of no scarring. “If we can locate the primary cancerous tumour using the TORS technology we can potentially reduce or even avoid radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments,” says Mr JP Jeannon, Consultant Head & Neck Surgeon.

Thoracic – Thoracic surgery is traditionally performed via a thoracotomy – a large cut in the chest. As the chest is always moving, recovery after a thoracotomy takes months and can result in extreme pain. As robotic surgical techniques reduce the size of that cut to less than 1cm, patients are in less pain and recover faster.

Neobladder procedures – in appropriate bladder cancer patients, surgeons can reconstruct the bladder robotically using the bowel. “We’re able to perform complex reconstructive surgery in confined spaces such as the pelvis, so patients avoid larger incisions and wound complications, minimising post-operative pain,” explains Mr Rajesh Nair, Consultant Urological Surgeon.

Interventional cardiology in hybrid theatres

Cutting-edge technology in HCA UK’s new hybrid theatres, with the latest image fusion and screen technology, allows ever more complex interventional cardiac and vascular procedures.

Interventional cardiologists at London Bridge Hospital, The Wellington Hospital and The Harley Street Clinic use the latest complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) techniques to treat patients where neither cardiac surgery nor standard PCI techniques are an option, or when a less-invasive approach is preferred – and possible.

Dr James Spratt and Dr Jonathan Hill lead the way in extending the role of complex PCI in patients with coronary artery disease. They’re using technologies like lithotripsy to unblock coronary arteries where previously a sternotomy and coronary artery bypass graft might have been the only option.

Dr Jonathan Byrne and Prof Phil MacCarthy recently performed the UK’s first combined procedure to replace the aortic valve with a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) and repair the mitral valve with a MitraClip – all through a small incision in the groin. The 87-year-old patient was breathing easily again and home in a matter of days.

Greater precision in spinal and orthopaedic surgery

Recently, Mr Khai Lam, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at London Bridge Hospital and The Portland Hospital, performed the first robotically assisted spinal surgery in the UK using the ExcelsiusGPS ® Robotic Navigation System. Capturing 3D images of the spine, he was able to place screws into the vertebra with much higher levels of precision.

Also, The Princess Grace Hospital was the UK’s first hospital to oer orthopaedic procedures using the Mako robotic surgical system, in the hands of Professor Fares Haddad. This technology allows surgeons to place joint implants more accurately and carry out complex hip and knee surgeries. HCA UK have also introduced this technology to The Lister Hospital.

Advances in cancer: blending personalised medicine with intervention and surgery

In recent years, a raft of new cancer treatments has emerged. HCA UK provides treatment options in rapidly evolving areas of medicine, including genomics, immunotherapy and CAR T-cell therapy, and interventional oncology

Genomics: refining personalised medicine

HCA UK’s molecular diagnostic laboratory is embracing genomics to improve understanding of what drives each patient’s cancer. Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology is used to analyse a large number of genes within a tumour simultaneously. This analyses millions of fragments of DNA in parallel, to a high degree of accuracy, cost-eectively and within clinically appropriate timeframes. More detailed information about the molecular makeup of a patient’s tumour allows a greater choice of potential therapy and the most appropriate option for their cancer.

“Powerful pathology is transforming the way we take care of people,” says Charles Percy, CEO HCA Labs. “Through Sarah Cannon Molecular Diagnostics, we can oer truly personalised medicine – which means the best possible outcome for each individual patient.”

The latest precision interventional oncology

Interventional oncology is playing an increasingly prominent role in the care of patients with cancer. Using the latest imaging technology, these minimally invasive techniques pinpoint cancers and guide treatments.

Interventional radiologists at HCA UK perform techniques such as Cryoablation, Chemoembolisation (TACE) and Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT). In the case of cancer patients, these techniques allow consultants to treat tumours in confined and hard-toreach areas of the body, causing minimal damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

Combining surgery with immunotherapy for lung cancer

The prognosis for cancers such as lung and melanoma are changing, particularly through the exciting field of immune-oncology. With immunotherapy, stage 4 lung cancer patients can even achieve remission. In the past, such patients would not have qualified for surgery, and palliative chemotherapy only would have been oered. One such patient – with metastatic lung cancer (and a second synchronous primary, a

thymoma) – had such a radical response to immunotherapy that surgery to remove a 3mm residual in the lung was made possible.

Mr Andrea Bille, Consultant Thoracic Surgeon, was able to perform a complex surgical procedure to remove both cancers at the same time, through one incision. Just a few years ago, the outcome for stage 4 lung cancer patients was very dierent.

“Having been giving chemotherapy with bleak outcomes and no real clinical progress for decades, suddenly in the last two years since immunotherapy, prognosis has changed dramatically,” explains Mr Billie. “And the rate of change continues to accelerate, with surgery playing a crucial role for these patients in keeping them in complete remission.”

Paediatric care: using the latest technology to support the next generation

The Portland Hospital and The Harley Street Clinic provide a wide range of complex maternal and paediatric medicine, while Lister Fertility Clinic specialises in the most complex fertility cases. Together they provide a full breadth of children’s, maternity and fertility services

The procedures undertaken at The Portland Hospital and The Harley Street Clinic are changing children’s lives. For those with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) surgery can make it easier for them to walk. This neurosurgical procedure cuts selective nerve roots in the spinal cord to reduce muscle stiness.

The Portland Hospital oers a revolutionary treatment for children with early onset scoliosis. Implanting MAGEC ® growing rods along the spine allows it to be lengthened and straightened without the need for multiple surgeries.

The Harley Street Clinic is the only independent hospital in the UK that specialises in paediatric congenital heart treatments. Their state-of-the-art facilities allow the team to provide life-saving procedures to babies and children with complex cardiac needs. HCA UK has the country’s only private, on-site paediatric and neonatal intensive care units.

Giving families the best start

Lister Fertility Clinic is regarded as one of the world’s foremost centres for fertility treatment. Its specialists consistently introduce proven cutting-edge techniques and assisted reproductive technologies.

As one of the first clinics in the UK to undertake egg donation, it now has one of the longest-running and most successful egg donation programmes in the country.

The Clinic’s fertility specialists take a holistic approach to investigating and treating fertility problems. It oers the latest fertility treatments, including intracytoplasmic morphologically selected sperm injection (IMSI), which allows for better selection of sperm for treatment. Comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) genetic screening is also used to check chromosomes in an embryo for abnormalities, which can either improve success rates or exclude known medical problems.

Investing in the future of healthcare

HCA Healthcare UK is committed to investing in the people, technology and research that make these medical advances possible. By focusing on delivering care through integrated departments across the network and hospitals, HCA UK brings together the best and most experienced consultants for specialist care.

Tel: +44 (0) 333 0110 500 Email: global@hcahealthcare.co.uk hcahealthcare.co.uk