Smith+Nephew and Standard Health partner on first Orthopaedic Ambulatory Surgery Centre in the UK
Smith+Nephew (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN), the global medical technology company, today announces a strategic partnership with Standard Health to support the development of the first-ever Orthopaedic Ambulatory Surgery Centre in the UK. Based in Poole, Dorset, the new centre will offer NHS and private patients access to leading joint repair and replacement technology for conditions such as rotator cuff repair, ACL reconstruction, knee and hip replacements, and foot & ankle/hand & wrist procedures.
Standard Health is a clinical healthcare provider, responsible for site development and operation of the facility with Smith+Nephew supplying its innovative portfolio of medical technologies. Standard Health expects to open a further 10 additional UK sites in the following three years and 20 in total by 2030.
The new centre in Poole will cover day and overnight-stay cases which make up the vast majority of orthopaedic procedures. It will mirror the Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) model in the US, where Smith+Nephew is a major partner to many sports medicine and orthopaedic facilities. Benefits derived from US-based ASC settings for both HCPs and their patients are well documented, and may include:
- Greater procedural efficiency due to streamlined workflows1
- A 92% patient satisfaction rate for both care and service received from ASCs1
- Decreased costs to the health system. In the US, outpatient joint replacements at ASCs reduce the costs of joint replacements by 40% compared to hospital-based surgery.2
There are currently more than 6,000 ASCs in the United States that account for greater than 50% of all outpatient surgical procedures.3,4 The Orthopaedic Ambulatory Surgery Centre in Poole is expected to open in 2025 and serve thousands of patients per calendar year, with the majority being NHS referrals. There are currently more than 850,000 people waiting for orthopaedic surgery in the UK.5 As a result, the NHS commissioning landscape is reliant on independent providers to address this demand.
“The Standard Health Orthopaedic Ambulatory Surgical Centre model will bring the benefits long enjoyed by US patients to those on waiting lists in the UK,” said Craig Gaffin, President of Global Orthopaedics at Smith+Nephew. “Our expertise with ASCs and broad portfolio of solutions will ensure that facilities and patients have access to world-class orthopaedic, sports medicine and wound management medical technology to help surgeons deliver an outstanding experience.”
“Our goal is to help shape and redefine the UK independent care provider model for orthopaedics based on existing successful models and technologies globally, including empowering surgeons as stakeholders. This will provide a standard quality of care for patients as well as value for NHS commissioners which is sustainable long-term,” said Matt Byrne, Chief Operating Officer for Standard Health. “The amount of time patients must wait for a procedure in the UK needs to improve. We chose to partner with Smith+Nephew to accelerate the implementation and ultimately help deliver the success of these surgical centres.”
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Media Enquiries
Smith+Nephew David Snyder:
Standard Health
References
- Ambulatory Surgery Centres: A positive trend in health care. Ambulatory Surgery Centre Association. [Accessed: June 13, 2025]
- [Accessed: June 13, 2025]
- ASCs in 2023: A Year in Review - Becker’s ASC: [Accessed: June 13, 2025]
- United States Ambulatory Surgery Center Market Report 2023: [Accessed: June 13, 2025]
- NHS Waiting List Tracker [Accessed: June 13, 2025]
About Smith+Nephew
Smith+Nephew is a portfolio medical technology business focused on the repair, regeneration and replacement of soft and hard tissue. We exist to restore people’s bodies and their self-belief by using technology to take the limits off living. We call this purpose ‘Life Unlimited’. Our 17,000 employees deliver this mission every day, making a difference to patients’ lives through the excellence of our product portfolio, and the invention and application of new technologies across our three global business units of Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & ENT and Advanced Wound Management.
Founded in Hull, UK, in 1856, we now operate in around 100 countries, and generated annual sales of $5.8 billion in 2024. Smith+Nephew is a constituent of the FTSE100 (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN). The terms ‘Group’ and ‘Smith+Nephew’ are used to refer to Smith & Nephew plc and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context requires otherwise.
For more information about Smith+Nephew, please visit and follow us on , , or .
About Standard Health
Standard Health Ltd is a CQC registered Private Ltd Company specialising in Orthopaedic Care. Standard Health have provided NHS orthopaedic services to the NHS in the south since 2012 with annual contract renewals. To date, Standard Health have provided over 10,000 patient episodes. Standard Health are in a Nationwide expansion programme to deliver high quality Ambulatory Surgical Centres primarily focussing on public sector work. This involves industry partnerships to deliver the latest surgical technologies to improve patient outcomes.
For more information about Standard Health please visit
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