HUG and Hirslanden form a partnership to create an outpatient surgery unit

The outpatient surgery, which enables patients to return home on the same day as their operation, is a reality on both a national and a European scale. This form of care that enables patients to recuperate and return home more quickly is one of the national priorities of the Swiss healthcare sector over the next ten years.

On 2 February 2018, HUG announced their intention to form a private partnership for the outpatient surgery unit project, which will be located at 22–24 avenue Beau-Séjour and constructed in partnership with the Caisse de prévoyance de l’Etat de Genève (CPEG), a pension fund in Geneva which owns the land. Having been adopted by the HUG Board and having received the support of the State Councillor in charge of the Department of Security, Employment and Health (DSES), the call for partners led to the selection of Hirslanden Group, which has a presence in Geneva with Clinique Hirslanden La Colline and Clinique Hirslanden Les Grangettes.

“This is an ambitious project. It represents a genuine desire to respond in a coordinated and efficient manner to the increasing demand in the area of outpatient surgery. The challenges that we face include knowing how to manage the shift to outpatient care while managing costs and ensuring the volume and quality of the care required. The Hirslanden Group is the ideal partner,” says Bertrand Levrat, CEO of HUG.

“For the Hirslanden Group, this is the first public-private relationship in outpatient surgery of this magnitude on Swiss soil. We are proud to be able to realize this together with HUG," says Daniel Liedtke, CEO of the Hirslanden Private Hospital Group.

Stéphan Studer, COO Western Region at the Hirslanden Group, adds: “We are convinced that, together with HUG, we will be able to combine our mutual expertise. We need to construct a centre that is adapted for outpatients in order to anticipate the upcoming needs of our patients, while respecting the economic and efficiency imperatives that enable us to deliver real added value to the patients. This partnership model is a precursor of this.”

On a national level, the Hirslanden Private Hospital Group is already managing outpatient surgery units in Zurich and Lucerne, and next year it will open additional units in Bern and St. Gallen.

The partnership between the two institutions will enable the unit to reach or exceed the break-even mark, which equates to 9,000 operations. “It will also enable us to offer the population of Geneva surgical interventions performed by the most adept professionals, in a swift manner and with the utmost safety,

and will enable the patients to return home quickly,” highlights Pr. Arnaud Perrier, HUG Hospital Medical Manager.

Operation of the outpatient surgery unit will be managed by a private company. The two partners – HUG and the Hirslanden Group – are equal shareholders in the company. A Board comprising six members has been formed. The management of the unit will be ensured by a management committee comprising a Hospital Manager, an Operating Theatre Manager and a Medical Coordinator.

“Geneva can be proud to welcome such a strategic and useful project for patients. The centre is a priority on the 2018–2023 legislative agenda of the Geneva State Council, which is aimed at reactivating the relations between the public and private healthcare sectors. This subject has never been so topical as it is today,” declares Mauro Poggia, State Councillor in charge of DSES.

For more information:

About Hirslanden

The Hirslanden Private Hospital Group consists of 17 hospitals in 10 cantons, many of which have an integrated outpatient surgery centre and emergency department. The Group also operates 3 outpatient clinics, 2 outpatient surgery units, 17 radiology institutes and 5 radiotherapy institutes. As of 31 March 2019, it has 2,303 affiliated doctors and 10,442 permanent employees, 510 of whom are doctors.

Hirslanden is the leading private hospital group and the largest medical network in Switzerland. In the 2018/19 financial year, it generated a turnover of 1,778 million Swiss francs. As of 31 March 2019, the Group had treated over 106,851 inpatients with a total of 479,631 inpatient days. In insurance terms, the patient mix consists of 48.7% with basic, 29.5% with semi-private and 21.8% with private insurance.

Hirslanden Private Hospital Group stands for first class medical quality, made possible with highly qualified, experienced doctors. In medical terms, Hirslanden stands out in the market as a system provider. Interdisciplinary medical competence centres and specialist institutes enable optimal and individual treatment of cases, whatever their level of medical complexity. The private hospital group was formed in 1990 out of the merger of a number of private hospitals, and became part of the international hospital group Mediclinic International plc in 2007, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

HUG: treatment, teaching and research centres

The university hospitals of Geneva (HUG) comprise eight public hospitals and two private hospitals. Their mission is to deliver care to the community in all medical specialties, to contribute towards the training of doctors and health professionals, and to carry out medical and care research. HUG are national centres of reference for flu and emerging viral infections, as well as for liver diseases in children and paediatric liver transplants. They are collaborating centres of the WHO (World Health Organisation) in seven areas. In 2018, together with their 11,730 employees, HUG welcomed 63,913 hospital patients, took care of 125,417 emergencies, more than a million cases of outpatient care, 27,790 surgical interventions and 4,213 births.  977 internal doctors and senior physicians, 2,186 interns and 217 trainees attend training at the centres. HUG cooperate closely with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva, WHO, CHUV, EPFL, CERN and other organisations in the Health Valley in the Lake Geneva region on different training and research projects. HUG’s annual budget is 1.94 billion Swiss francs.

More information at:

• HUG:
  www.hug-ge.ch
  presse-hug@hcuge.ch
• Activity report, key figures and strategic plan:
  www.hug-ge.ch/publications-hug