One Health Group: Yorkshire healthcare firm sees boost in patients amid ‘stubbornly high’ NHS waiting list
Yorkshire-based healthcare provider One Health Group saw its patient numbers lift in the first half of the year as the NHS continued to experience a ‘stubbornly high’ waiting list.
The firm saw its new NHS patient referrals lift by 16 per cent year-on-year, growing from 7,857 in the six months to September 30 last year to 9,111 this year. The firm also increased the number of consultations it undertook during the period by 22 per cent to 23,927.
One Health Group provides NHS-funded medical procedures for referred patients, working in orthopaedics, spinal, general surgery and gynaecology.
The firm’s latest figures come at a time when the NHS waiting list remains persistently high.
The list has risen in each of the last three months, currently standing at 7.4 million. Prior to the last three months, the list had fallen for six months straight.
Speaking as the company released its latest figures, One Health Group CEO, Adam Binns, said the firm also expects to see a lift in NHS referrals in the second half of the year.
He said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange: “As well as ongoing increases in GP referrals, as in previous years, we anticipate an increase in NHS Trust referrals in [the second half], where local NHS Trusts transfer NHS patients from their internal patient waiting lists.
“This has never been more important as pressure increases to achieve challenging year end Government waiting list targets.
“Though there have been very modest reductions over the first half of the year, the national waiting list has remained stubbornly high at 7.4 million, increasing over the last two months due to industrial action. In addition, winter pressures are rapidly approaching and likely to exacerbate the situation.”
One Health Group added that it expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to land “significantly ahead” of last year, when it posted £0.98m in the first half.
The firm added that it remains “on track” to deliver revenue and underlying EBITDA in line with market expectations.
Current market forecasts for the firm’s full-year revenue and underlying EBITDA stand at around £29.6m and £2.3m respectively.
Mr Binns added: “The continuing dedication and tenacity of the team, building on the strong performance and momentum generated last year, has resulted in a strong first half with impressive growth achieved across all key performance metrics.
“As a growing and trusted provider of support to the NHS for over 21 years we look forward to the future with confidence, providing much needed care, free at the point of delivery for NHS patients, across an ever-increasing geography, reducing pressure on the NHS.”
One Health Group also saw the first of its surgical hubs approved for planning permission in the first half of the year.
It added that construction was now expected to begin on the Scunthorpe-based hub before the end of the year, with the site expected to begin operation before the end of 2026.
One Health Group’s hubs are designed to deliver significant additional surgical operating capacity for the company, in regions which have limited provision of NHS services.
The firm added that it had also now identified further sites which it will assess for suitability for future hubs.
One Health Group is set to announce its half-year results in December.