Kent Institute of Medicine & Surgery (KIMS) is the first private tertiary-level hospital in Kent, which is due to open in April 2014.
KIMS is an independent, clinician-led and part clinician-owned healthcare campus. The construction of this £85m private hospital has been uniquely funded and the design and service delivery has been developed by clinicians.
With a highly-competitive innovative three-year business plan, KIMS is set to transform the Kent private and NHS healthcare market through providing high-quality complex procedures comparable to London-based teaching hospitals. KIMS will meet the needs of local communities and provide convenience for clinicians who want to practise locally.
KIMS is a long-awaited, much-anticipated project that has created high levels of speculation and excitement in the healthcare market. However, what nobody could have predicted is the level of commitment that KIMS demonstrates in creating and delivering a centre for clinical excellence or the dedication it has in attracting the best possible talent.
In September 2012, KIMS appointed Stroud Consulting, Executive Healthcare Headhunters (Stroud Consulting) to recruit a Hospital Director. Adopting a comprehensive headhunting search, Joanna Stroud, Director of Stroud Consulting, (Click here to access Joanna's LinkedIn profile), said: “The key with recruiting for a start-up is having a convincing business plan that clearly outlines the idea, the funding and why it is unique. You then have to be prepared to share that information,communicate and engage with prospective employees.
“What makes KIMS so unique is the commitment to tertiary level care and the passion and enthusiasm from the management team. The majority of candidates we approached were aware of KIMS, but underestimated the size and scale of the project making it a very well-received opportunity. Our job wasn’t just to identify the best possible talent, it was to be a brand ambassador and ‘tell the KIMS story'."
The appointed Hospital Director is Jayne Cassidy, former Hospital Director at Nuffield Health and Director of Development at HCA International. Jayne is an expert in managing change with extensive experience of establishing and improving services in existing and start-up hospitals. She thrives within an autonomous, energetic and caring environment and intends to create an empowering culture that recognises success and develops talent. Patient care and clinical excellence are top priorities on her agenda.
KIMS is being built on a seven-acre site near Maidstone providing 101 beds, five major theatres, two endoscopy suites and an advanced diagnostic service that includes angiography, advanced MRI and nuclear medicine. They will have an in-house sterilisation plant, in-house pathology, 60 clinician offices and an education centre.
The hospital will provide patients with access to more than 300 first class clinicians and will employ around 400 people by the end of 2014.