- Independent hospital
Three Shires Hospital
Report from 10 December 2024 assessment
Ratings - Surgery
Our view of the service
Three Shires Hospital is operated by Three Shires Hospital LLP, part of the Circle Health Group Limited. It offers elective surgical services as well as outpatients and diagnostic imaging. At this inspection we inspected surgical services.
Surgical services operate across a pre-assessment unit, theatres, including 3 with laminar flow facilities, a post-operative recovery unit, 3 inpatient wards with a total of 50 beds, and a physiotherapy rehabilitation service.
The hospital offers services to NHS patients under ‘choose and book’ arrangements, self-funding patients, and patients referred by their insurance provider. Clinical specialties include orthopaedics, gynaecology, general surgery and neurosurgery.
The hospital primarily serves the communities of Northamptonshire and accepts referrals from outside this area. Around 40% of surgical patients are cared for on behalf of the NHS.
We carried out unannounced site assessments on 11 and 18 December 2024. We have not yet inspected this service under Circle Health Group Limited ownership.
We rated this service as outstanding because it was safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well led with several areas of innovation that demonstrably improved patient care and outcomes.
People's experience of this service
People we spoke with were overwhelmingly positive about the service. They appreciated rapid access to specialists, the time and space to discuss concerns with consultants, and integrated care between the provider’s services and the NHS. Patients were very happy with the care and communication and said they felt well cared for regardless of whether they had self-paid or received treatment under an NHS contract. People were particularly pleased with the physiotherapy service and noted the tangible impact the team had on their outcomes and recovery. A patient noted, “I think maybe the best care I've received in my life, my surgeon was fantastic, informative, reassuring and great at communicating everything. All accompanying staff were just as good. The aftercare received was also unparalleled. My nurse in particular was unbelievably caring, thorough and very attentive. Best care system in the world for a reason!” The themes in this comment were reflected consistently in hundreds of feedback notes.