THE Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust has bought Circle Bath for an undisclosed sum, it was revealed on Tuesday.

The independent hospital on the outskirts of the city at Peasedown St John will be renamed Sulis Hospital Bath. It provides care for both private and NHS patients.

The acquisition follows the successful merger of BMI Healthcare Ltd and Circle Health Holdings Ltd. Circle Health was required by the Competition and Markets Authority to divest itself of Circle Bath Hospital.

The Trust says the acquisition will secure capacity for NHS patients at a critical time of recovery for NHS waiting lists nationally as well as seeking to increase capacity at the facility for the benefit of all patients both NHS and private.

Its says patients can be assured they will receive the same excellent care in a wellbeing-focussed environment in the knowledge that their care is backed by RUH experts.

RUH chief executive Cara Charles-Barks said: “We have a long-standing positive relationship with Sulis Hospital Bath, which provided significant support in caring for elective and cancer patients early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a really positive next step for us to take together and we’re really pleased to welcome Sulis staff to our RUH family.

“With our local health partners, we are absolutely committed to minimising the amount of time our patients have to wait for planned operations.

“Acquiring Sulis Hospital Bath will allow us to increase the number of NHS patients we treat, whilst maintaining high quality care for both private and NHS patients. We’ll be investing in the future of Sulis Hospital Bath for the benefit of our community.”

Lesley Lock, Sulis Hospital Bath, hospital director, said: “The launch of Sulis Hospital Bath will be the second chapter to what has been an incredible first decade for our hospital.

“We are still a leading private healthcare facility offering outstanding care to patients in Bath and the surrounding areas and this will not change."

“With our new partner, we can grow and develop and our services and expand our region’s healthcare offering for all patients.”

The Trust also plans to increase diagnostic capacity, using the Sulis Hospital Bath facilities to provide quicker and easier access to a range of tests on the same day and support earlier diagnosis.

Although 100 per cent owned by the Trust, Sulis Hospital Bath will become an RUH subsidiary but will continue to be directly managed by the same team.

Under the new ownership, any additional income earned from private healthcare will be reinvested in high quality services for all patients at the two hospital sites.

For more information, go to https://www.ruh.nhs.uk/

The new website for Sulis Hospital Bath is www.sulishospital.com