Circle social enterprise to run Hinchingbrooke Healthcare NHS Trust in Huntingdonshire

Circle, the employee-owned social enterprise, has today been chosen as the preferred partner to run Hinchingbrooke Healthcare NHS Trust in Huntingdonshire.

In a historic move, the East of England Strategic Health Authority (SHA) has selected a non-state owned provider to take over the delivery of NHS services at Hinchingbrooke Hospital.

Circle have a unique partnership model, where everyone from the consultants to the cleaners are co-owners in the business, as well as their track record in turning round NHS services by empowering front-line employees.

Employing over 1,000 seconded NHS staff and treating more than 130,000 patients each year, Circle's NHS day-surgery hospitals in Nottingham and Burton delivered over 20% productivity gains in their first year of Circle operation, at the same time as improving patient outcomes to four times better than the national benchmark, patient satisfaction to 99.4% and staff satisfaction to 91%.

Dr Stephen Dunn, Director of Strategy at NHS East of England, said: "Circle's John Lewis style partnership model and track record of turning around NHS services make them our preferred partner to transform the first NHS Trust to be franchised. We are impressed by the way Circle devolves decision-making to those closest to patients, and empower doctors, nurses and all staff to innovate to deliver better care for their patients."

"In Circle, we have selected a cutting edge partner with an innovative approach to propel Hinchingbrooke into the premier league. This has to be a model for hospitals that face similar challenges nationally."

Ali Parsa, Circle's Managing Partner, said: "Circle's co-operative model offers a Big Society solution for Hinchingbrooke - liberating doctors and nurses to deliver the best services for the patients they know best. This is a great opportunity for a social enterprise and local clinicians to come together to lead the next chapter in the long and successful history of the NHS. Through this unique partnership, we will continue to provide high-quality NHS services that are free at the point of use for the people of Huntingdon. We'd like to thank the Strategic Health Authority and Department of Health for their willingness to think outside the box to secure the highest quality services for patients in Huntingdon."