The Portland Hospital to double the size of its specialist Children's Hospital

Planners approve a stunning new link-bridge design to adjacent building

London’s world renowned Portland Hospital for Women and Children in Great Portland Street, has been granted planning permission to build a stunning new bridge linking the hospital to an adjacent building that will allow it to double the size of its specialist Children’s Hospital.

The new bridge was designed by William Matthews, who were the project lead for Renzo Piano who designed The Shard. The iconic Portland Hospital bridge will initially enable the opening of three new paediatric floors in the adjacent 215 Great Portland Street building providing 20 new inpatient beds and making a total of 80 dedicated private paediatric beds. The Portland already has two existing outpatient floors in this building.

Approval of link bridges in Westminster are rare, however the planning committee, overseen by Councillor Robert Davis unanimously approved the bridge referring to the design as “iconic and beautiful”

The Portland is already the UK’s largest provider of private paediatric care and last year its unique team of 120 senior Consultants Paediatric Sub-Specialists handled over 50,000 paediatric outpatient appointments alone.

The hospital has the most modern diagnostic, treatment and surgical facilities supported by a paediatric intensive care and neonatology unit for babies and children up to the age of 16. Its neonatal and paediatric specialists carry out the most complex surgical procedures and uniquely, The Portland has its own specialist neuro rehabilitation unit. This £20 million expansion will also enable the building of more extensive paediatric rehabilitation facilities, including state of the art therapy suites and the first UK robot assisted Lokomat walking therapy system for children with cerebral palsy and acute brain injury.

The Portland’s Chief Executive Officer, Janene Madden, said the expansion was driven by the increasing demand for private paediatric care from both within the UK and also internationally.

“We are delighted to have been granted planning permission for our link bridge. It marks a milestone in the history of The Portland which is the only private hospital of its kind in the UK. This expansion will help to further enhance London’s growing reputation as a world class centre of excellence for complex medicine”

“The increasing demand for private paediatric care is outstripping the demand for adult care and while we have traditionally admitted a large number of complex paediatric patients from overseas, there are more UK patients coming to us now than ever before. Over the past four years alone, the total number of paediatric patients at The Portland has increased by a staggering 80%! We were in danger of running out of space. ”

“Not only will we be able to expand paediatrics but this will enable us to grow and continue our Women’s Services facilities too,” she said.

The Portland treats all paediatric medical conditions save for cancer and cardiac conditions which are referred to its nearby sister hospital, The Harley Street Clinic.

Note to Editors

The Portland Hospital is owned by HCA International Limited, which also owns the Capital’s five other leading private hospitals, all based in central London and each with an international reputation for the highest standards of acute and tertiary care. They are: The Wellington – the largest private hospital in Europe, London Bridge Hospital, The Harley Street Clinic, The Lister Hospital and The Princess Grace Hospital.

HCA also has ten outpatient and diagnostic centres in and around London, a blood and bone cancer treatment unit as a joint venture with the NHS at University College Hospital; The London Gamma Knife Centre, another joint venture with the NHS at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and Harley Street at Queen’s, a private patient cancer centre at the NHS Queen’s Hospital in Romford. HCA recently opened a radiotherapy centre for private patients on the Guy’s Hospital campus and will also be taking space on the hospital’s new cancer centre. In addition, HCA, in partnership with the internationally renowned Christie cancer hospital in Manchester, has a new state of the art private patient unit – The Christie Clinic – for cancer patients from across the North of England, and an outpatient and day care centre at 52 Alderley Road, Manchester.

For more Media Information about The Portland Hospital and its services, please call Neil Huband on 07808 298989 or email nhuband@PriorityCounsel.com