The District can bridge the gap between private innovation and NHS to help country respond to ageing population challenges, landlord Chief Executive Mark Kildea tells The Times.
The Harley Street Health District is at least as important – if not more – to today’s rapidly evolving UK healthcare sector as it was when it began during Victorian times due to its ability to connect medtech and AI innovation to providers at scale, landlord The Howard de Walden Estate Chief Executive has told The Times newspaper.
Speaking to the paper’s chief business correspondent Alex Ralph, Mr Kildea said the District
can help tackle NHS pressures from “ageing conditions, from cancer, cardiac, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and cognitive decline” by showcasing and introducing technologies.
“We realised that healthcare was changing quite dramatically,” he said.
“It’s gone through the challenging period of Covid. There’s a workforce shortage. There’s a funding shortage. The government just doesn’t have enough money to spend on healthcare.”
“There’s a societal shift as well towards wellbeing, preventative healthcare. So, we wanted to make sure that Harley Street was in a position to respond to that,” he added.
Mr Kildea spoke to The Times to promote his ambition to build an already thriving and growing “ecosystem” in the District, which he described as having an advantage over out-of-town health innovation and sciences areas due to it being more “culturally interesting” and home to an “experience economy.”
In the article, Mr Kildea described how the District’s central London location and established reputation for healthcare acts as a counterbalance to perceived challenges to establishing a healthcare hub in historical buildings.
He said it might seem more “cost-effective” at first glance for a HealthTech innovator to locate on “some biomedical campus” but points out that access to patients and staff could then be difficult.
Mr Kildea also told The Times how last year’s development of Hale House on Portland Place as a flexible workspace for HealthTech start-ups and investors has been “really important” to creating “the energy and vibe” that would appeal to innovators.
“One of our largest hospitals is very close to trialling with some health innovators with support from [anchor Hale House tenant] UCLPartners,“ he said.
Providers in the District range from The London Clinic to HCA Healthcare UK and also include expanding arms of NHS providers such as The Royal Marsden and Guys and St Thomas’ trusts.
Meanwhile new providers are moving in – Bupa acquired the King Edward VII’s hospital last year and US giant Cedars Sinai recently announced it will open a flagship clinic on New Cavendish Street early this year.
Mr Kildea is employed to lead management the estate on behalf of The Howard de Walden family, which have been owners since 1879.
