Wragge & Co advises on pioneering healthcare strategy
LAW firm Wragge & Co has advised on a groundbreaking project to secure a private partner to run a key NHS Trust.
The Birmingham firm acted for NHS East of England, the strategic health authority for the region, to procure a private partner to run Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust in Huntingdonshire.
Circle is the successful preferred partner. Its appointment follows a competitive tender for the franchise to deliver NHS services at Hinchingbrooke Hospital. It marks a first for the sector – creating an NHS Trust operated by a private franchisee.
Circle will take over the operation next June, subject to approvals by the Department of Health and other regulators.
Wragge partner Bleddyn Rees led the legal team on the project and said: “This is completely new territory for the public healthcare sector. Yet again Wragge & Co has completed a landmark first for the sector.
“This is not just about one hospital in the East of England – there are a number of Trusts throughout the UK facing financial challenges. While the option of using a statutory franchise will not be appropriate for every financially challenged Trust, in the right circumstances it provides real value. Focusing on financial savings and quality it raises some unique challenges but also offers a huge amount of practical learning.”
Andrew MacPherson, director of the Strategic Projects Team at NHS EoE, said: “Wragge & Co’s healthcare experts brought innovative and collaborative ideas to the procurement process. The team’s sector expertise and first-rate legal advice was integral in making the project happen.”
Wragge’s Healthcare team has been advising NHS EoE during the last 12 months. Bleddyn Rees and associate Rhian Vandrill led the project with solicitor Lara Wilding. The wider team included employment expert Georgina Houghton, who advised on a form of the retention of employment model, and public law partner John Cooper and solicitor Robyn Farmer. Partner Simon Taylor and solicitor Louise Rason advised on competition and procurement elements. The team worked closely with Ian Baxter and Jennifer Deane at PwC, the project’s financial advisers to NHS EoE.
Circle is a healthcare partnership, building and operating a network of UK hospitals co-owned by the clinicians and staff who work within them. It was advised throughout the competitive process by Capsticks.
