Agreement means Vhi members now have access the three private hospitals in the Kingsbridge Healthcare Group
Health insurance customers with VHI will now be able to access healthcare in Kingsbridge Private Hospital in Belfast – following a partnership agreement between the insurer and the healthcare group.
The announcement means that VHI members now have access the three private hospitals in the Kingsbridge Healthcare Group, after previous agreements were reached for the group’s facilities in Derry and Sligo.
Kingsbridge Healthcare Group CEO Mark Regan
The new partnership includes access to the Kingsbridge Diagnostics and Treatment Centre, which shares a campus with Kingsbridge Private Hospital on Belfast’s Lisburn Road, just off the M1 artery into the city.
The Kingsbridge Healthcare Group has treated more than 60,000 patients from the Republic of Ireland over the past three years, and helped reduce waiting times here under the HSE’s national treatment purchase fund (NTPF) and the Northern Ireland Planned Healthcare Scheme (formerly known as the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive).
In-patient procedures at Kingsbridge Belfast cover all the main specialties including orthopaedics, general surgery, ENT and gynaecology. Diagnostics and scans are conducted on an out-patient basis.
“We are excited to work with VHI, a dynamic provider of care and the largest health insurer on the island, and we believe this partnership will offer their members greater choice in accessing high-quality healthcare on the Island of Ireland,” said Kingsbridge Healthcare Group Mark Regan.
The group said it will engage intensively with GPs, patients and corporate organisations in Ireland this year, and is putting in place a network of satellite clinics across the island for patient aftercare and follow-up.
Kingsbridge provides more than 25,000 surgical treatments annually with 450 consultants providing care across 50 specialities. VHI provides private health insurance to over 1.2 million members in the Republic of Ireland and reimburses €1.6 billion in medical-related claims each year.
“We are pleased to further extend our partnership with Kingsbridge Healthcare Group with the addition of Kingsbridge Private Hospital in Belfast,” said Mark Byrne, VHI’s director of healthcare partnerships.
“This collaboration will provide VHI members living in the border region with greater access to high-quality medical services in a modern facility. We look forward to the benefits this partnership will bring to our members.”
Kingsbridge plans to offer fast access to first appointments and surgery through a new online booking platform on their website. Patients will be able to follow their own treatment pathway by registering on the Kingsbridge patient portal.
The Lisburn Road campus boasts state-of-the-art facilities including robotic surgery and pharmacies on site. VHI members will be offered preferential rates for other services available at Kingsbridge like laser eye treatment, hearing-aid provision, and a sleep and snoring clinic.