Circle in the news

The impressive thing is that the building does exactly what its makers say it does. It provides obviously good things that somehow get missed out of other hospitals... When they call [it] "one of the finest hospitals in Britain", they're right.

Circle is at the cutting-edge of redefining healthcare... Ali Parsa [Circle's Chief Executive] is almost evangelical when it comes to healthcare provision.

[On the Hinchingbrooke hospital contract]: This is great news for the social enterprise business community. Circle is more than 50% owned by its employees and has a clear social mission. An employee-owned organisation gives staff a say in how its run, and production and profitability normally increase as a result of a loyal and happy workforce.

Its aluminum tiles glinting in the light, Foster + Partners' latest building looks more like an art gallery than a hospital.  The Bath Hospital - a sleek, shimmering metal and glass box - might just constitute the spark that sets off a turn-round in how hospitals are conceived and perceived.

A hospital group, half-owned by its staff...being hailed as a model for the future of the NHS... What's really different about the Circle model is the ideology behind it. The belief that staff - if given the power and the financial interest - are better at identifying improvements and efficiencies than managers or people sitting in the Department of Health.

The case study examples [Circle; Kaiser Permanente; Central Surrey Health] provide further evidence of the impact of employee ownership on performance. These organisations are among the most innovative and successful in their sectors.

Circle is not a slash-and-burn company.  It will achieve greater volume by efficiency improvements driven by empowered clinicians and other employees.  Both they and patients will benefit.  Given the successes they seem to have had in Nottingham and Bath, we are prepared to take Circle's word for it.

It is the ethos which flows from Circle's ownership model which…is behind the improvement in the performance of the independent treatment centres it has run for the past three years.  Should staff become advocates for the Circle approach over the next few years, then the cultural impact on the NHS will be...profound.

Circle…has seen stunning productivity improvements… This has been associated with very high levels of customer satisfaction, with 99.6 per cent of patients saying they would recommend the centre to families and friends.

When I visit hospitals so often I am told by staff that they… do not have any real say in the delivery of their service, and that is where we can learn from organisations like Circle.. A lot of people are starting to show interest in this model… I think it could potentially be transformational if you apply it to the NHS.

Winner of the 2010 HealthInvestor award for "Secondary Care/Diagnostics provider of the year.

Winner of the 2010 British Construction Industry award for Building Project £3m - £50m.

Circle's Managing Partner, Dr. Ali Parsa, won the 'Entrepreneurial Achievement Award' at the 2010 Independent Healthcare Awards.

CircleBath: Winner of the 2010 FX International Interior Design Award for "Best Public Space".

I have been impressed by Circle's radical but assured approach and have been reassured of their long term commitment to managing Hinchingbrooke Hospital.

We are impressed by the way Circle devolve decision-making to those closest to patients, and empower doctors, nurses and all staff to innovate. They've got a lot to contribute to the delivery of NHS services. The coalition government's vision is clear that we should be buying healthcare from the most innovative providers.

We are very pleased that Circle won…one of the things that really impressed us was their emphasis on patient care and that the patient's journey is at the centre of everything. We are keen to be working with them [as] it feels like we are on the same page. We are delighted that Circle have been given this opportunity to run our local hospital.

Circle seems to sum up the quality of innovation which, whether it's the innovation of the model of delivery or it's the innovation in employing clinical leadership, is driving that [move to make quality the organising principle in the NHS] change.