Our history
HCA has been providing healthcare for over 50 years. We began with a small hospital founded by doctors in the US. Today, HCA is one of the leading private healthcare providers in the US and the UK. Our founding philosophy of putting patients first has guided us every day since 1968.
HCA came to the UK in the nineties to do something not being done in the private sector; establish hospitals with the deep clinical infrastructure to provide the most complex care otherwise not routinely available outside of the NHS.
HCA Healthcare UK still provides levels of complex care across a breadth and depth of medical specialties unmatched in the private sector and with over two decades of experience in the UK to guide us.
Investing in world leading healthcare for the UK
In 2017, we opened local satellite centres in Chiswick, Elstree, Marylebone and Chelsea, then in 2019 we opened a new outpatient and diagnostics centre spanning 3 floors of The Shard.
A larger private patient's facility, Private Care at Guy's has since been opened on the top floor of Guy's Cancer Centre in partnership with Guys & St Thomas’ Hospital. Our latest venture will be the opening of The Harborne Hospital in 2023 in partnership with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.
I felt that I was getting the best that I could get.
Robert, Heart surgery patient
50 years of outstanding care
Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) was founded in August 1968 by two physicians, Drs. Thomas Frist Sr. and Thomas Frist Jr., and businessman Jack Massey in Nashville, USA. August 2018 marked HCA Healthcare’s 50th year as an organisation.
Now, with nearly 300 hospitals across the US and UK, 240,000 nurses and 37,000 doctors, HCA is the world’s largest private hospital group.
We learn from every one of our 27 million patient encounters each year, helping to ensure that we deliver the outstanding care that we would want for our own family to each and every individual patient.
"Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life" - Dr Frist
Dr Thomas Frist founded HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) in 1968, with a vision of creating a healthcare company with the scope, resources and expertise to provide the highest possible standard of care.
At HCA UK today, we maintain this vision, and encourage each individual to participate in developing our healthcare offering for our patients. Celebrating and commending individuals who work for us is a longstanding tradition of HCA Healthcare and through our Awards of Distinction we recognise individuals for their exceptional commitment to their community, our patients, and our organisation.
There are three categories of awards:
1. The Frist Humanitarian Award: honouring outstanding individuals for humanitarian and volunteer activities. In the two categories for this award, you can nominate an HCA colleague and an HCA UK employed doctor.
2. Excellence in Nursing Award: recognises nurses who excel in the two categories of compassionate care and professional mentoring.
3. Innovators Award: an individual who advances our organisation’s mission through innovation.
Facility leadership teams select winners for each award - two individuals for the Frist Humanitarian Award (one employee and one employed doctor), two nurses for the Excellence in Nursing Award (in the categories of Compassionate Care and Professional Mentoring) and one individual for the Innovators Award. These winners then go into a national judging process and the five UK divisional winners represent HCA UK at the enterprise level judging in at HCA Healthcare in Nashville, Tennessee.
Exceptional people, exceptional care
From the nurses to the cleaners, porters, catering staff and pain management team, the quality of care, facilities and support were second to none, and everyone was rooting for me.
Adam, Haematology patient
Pushing the boundaries of learning
Over 3,000 consultant partners who provide the depth and breadth of care across our hospitals and clinics.
Many of our consultants carry out and publish research and are world renowned for their expertise in new methods and techniques for patient care – from complex neurosurgery to how genetics can improve outcomes for cancer patients.
Dedicated HCA UK laboratories
Our laboratory services provide an integrated service to our hospitals across all disciplines in pathology including haematology and blood transfusion, histopathology and cytology microbiology, serology, and immunology.
We also offer genomic testing through our specialist molecular diagnostic labs.
