BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Shams Maladwala, managing director of The Royal Marsden Private Care, on the Trust’s integrated model of private and NHS care and its new Cavendish Square facility Interview: Ellie Costigan
As managing director of The Royal Marsden Private Care, I‘m responsible for the governance and management of private patients within the framework of the Trust, including operational, clinical and commercial aspects. Ours is an integrated model; it’s the best of both worlds, private and NHS. In practical terms, it means we have distinct areas within the Trust – the NHS side and the private care side – but it is very much a symbiotic relationship. There are also areas that are shared between NHS and private patients, such as surgery and the ICU. It is much more efficient and a betterquality experience to have a shared resource for these clinically key areas. The integrated model works on a number of levels. It works for patients, most importantly, because they get the safety assurance and governance that 24—Prognosis
is so important in private healthcare. It works for sponsor groups, insurers and embassies, because they are assured that whatever pathway is taken, it will be evidence based. When drugs are prescribed, they are prescribed within the context of a multi-disciplinary team. It works for consultants, because they can carry out their private and NHS practice within the confines of one organisation, alongside the Trust teams they’re used to working with on a dayto-day basis. This leads to more time spent with patients and a better quality and continuity of care. And, fundamentally, this integrated model also works for the Trust. All revenue generated via the private care division goes back into the Trust. This enables further investment into our teams, our kit, our staff, our research, and that benefits
all patients. I believe this model has been a contributor to the fact that the private care side has doubled in size in the past five years. We also have an outstanding CQC rating. These results are testament to the success of our integrated model. Other Trusts have similar arrangements, but The Royal Marsden is the largest of these private patient units in the country. The fact that we are research-led is another very big differentiator of The Royal Marsden. It means patients can access the very latest and most innovative treatments in oncology. We have clinical trials happening all the time. We work in partnership with the Institute of Cancer Research, so we really do offer cutting-edge treatments: whether it’s the latest genetic tests, CAR T-cell therapy, or the latest type of MR imaging. Having access to that, whether you’re a private
