Why Adam Binns of One Health Group is on a mission to support the NHS

He was appointed CEO at One Health in 2019, just before the pandemic placed intense strain on the NHS.

According to Mr Binns, Yorkshire-based One Health is a fundamental part of the local NHS supply chain. Demand for its services has increased over the past two years due to record NHS waiting lists.

It provides support in four of the highest demand outsourced specialties, orthopaedics, spinal, general surgery and gynaecology.

One Health also aims to open two surgical hubs over the next three years, as the first stage of a longer-term growth plan

"We only do NHS work; all the care we deliver is at no cost to the patient, we are funded by the NHS,’’ Mr Binns stressed. “We take patients directly from GP referrals under ‘patient choice’, and manage the entire pathway through to their discharge back to good health.”

Under patient choice, NHS patients have the right to choose their treatment provider, which includes the independent sector and the NHS. One Health is paid by the NHS at a standard tariff, which is less than half the private costs.

Mr Binns added: “The NHS ran a promotional campaign to raise awareness in September across printed and digital media, which was an excellent initiative, and can only help reduce the burden on the system, with more patients choosing to receive their treatment with independent providers like One Health.

"Our primary driver is to support the NHS in reducing waiting lists in the regions within which we operate. Before the pandemic, around 4m people were on NHS waiting lists. This figure now stands at almost 7.8m people and is still growing.

"The independent sector has been supporting the NHS for almost 20 years,’’ he added. “In addition to GP referrals, we also currently support four trusts in Yorkshire and the Midlands directly with their internal waiting lists.”

Each year, One Health treats 12,000 new patients, undertaking 30,000 consultations and 6,000 surgical procedures. More than 100 NHS surgeons and anaesthetists are deployed across South and West Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicester, Derby and Lincolnshire.

Mr Binns added: "We also don't ask the patient to go to hospital, we take the care to the patient, with the consultant travelling into the community to one of over 30 outreach clinics to carry out initial consultations. We don’t ask patients to travel long distances to meet the consultant.

"All our growth has been underpinned by a focus on patient safety and care,’’ he said “All our consultants are employed by the NHS; providing their services to us outside their NHS workplan on a subcontract basis.

"We work hand in hand with independent hospitals around the region to provide surgical capacity where and when required, maximising the utilisation of their asset, which is very well received.”

"We have seen really good organic growth year on year, and we continue to source new capacity in new locations as we widen our geographic reach,’’ he added.

"We currently employ around 50 staff, within our head office in a lovely converted Victorian mansion in the Ecclesall area of Sheffield. We expect to achieve organic growth of between 10 and 15 per cent each year before any strategic growth through the development of owned surgical capacity, which is a key project at the moment.

"We would also never rule out an acquisition of an existing private hospital, but it would need to aligned with our strategic growth plans and target locations where NHS patient demand is high, and the surgical capacity provision from the NHS or independent sector partners is deficient.”

The company’s IPO (initial public offering) in November 2022 raised £1.5m and its financial performance for the year to March 2023 was ahead of forecast, delivering £20.5m annual revenue and £1.5m underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest taxation depreciation and amortisation). It is poised to enjoy continuing geographic growth as more surgeons elect to become part of the One Health group’s business model.

Mr Binns added: "The primary driver behind our decision to list was to be able to raise cash to support growth. As a team we always focus on the results we achieve. Improving patient care is at the heart of our business.”

This week, ‍One Health Group revealed it had extended its support to the NHS through two new contracts with local NHS trusts. The group is providing Barnsley Teaching Hospital with additional orthopaedic capacity, and Derby & Burton NHS Foundation Trust with both gynaecology and orthopaedic support.

These additional patients are transferred from the trust’s own internal waiting lists and are in addition to the patients One Health receives directly following a GP referral through ‘patient choice’.

Mr Binns said: "All our team go to work every day knowing we are doing good; it could be helping somebody to enjoy better health or helping somebody who had suffered from a long-term chronic condition get back to work.

"That's really satisfying, and we have a strong collaborative team spirit. We've done what we said we would do since we listed, and we believe we'll be able to raise cash again if we need to support our strategic growth.”