Private hospital in 'financial difficulty' just two years after opening in Belfast

ONE OF Northern Ireland’s upmarket private hospitals, the Belfast Clinic, has gone into administration after less than two years in business.

The newest independent private hospital in the North, the facility offers a range of medical and surgical procedures and an extensive list of cosmetic surgery options from tummy tucks to facelifts.

The Belfast Clinic also provides a range of services to many NHS Trusts in Northern Ireland.

The hospital, which employs 31 people directly and utilises a bank of up to 70 agency nursing staff, provides “practice privileges” to a number of self-employed consultants in the North.

The clinic opened in 2008 in the fashionable Lisburn Road or as it is billed locally “the style mile”.

The area is known for its expensive women’s fashion boutiques, select beauty retailers and sophisticated cafes and restaurants.

But the market in which private hospitals operate is highly competitive and relatively small in the North.

The Belfast Clinic may boast state-of-the-art facilities, including two fully equipped operating theatres, but so do other long-established private hospitals including the likes of the Ulster Clinic and the North West Independent Hospital.

Business advisers PricewaterhouseCoopers yesterday confirmed the Belfast Clinic had experienced “financial difficulties”.

The clinic’s shareholders are all believed to be Northern Ireland-based.

Garth Calow, a business recovery services partner with PwC, has been appointed as joint administrator together with colleagues Ian Green and Chris Rooney to the Belfast Clinic Limited.

PwC said the clinic’s financial difficulties followed the “suspension of the NHS waiting list initiative” in Northern Ireland.

This was an initiative designed to reduce lengthy public waiting lists by referring NHS patients who were awaiting surgery to a private hospital or clinic for treatment.

Administration is designed to examine a company’s prospects for survival, while it works towards paying its debts. Garth Calow, the joint administrator to the hospital said the plan is to sell it.

“We understand that there is interest in this facility and our immediate priority will be to determine the best options for the business and creditors as discussions continue.” he said.

“Immediate actions will be taken to review and confirm ongoing arrangements, however in the meantime, patients with appointments or due to attend for arranged procedures, should contact the clinic in advance.”