1st December 2020

Revenue And Patient Growth At Rutherford Despite COVID Impact

Cancer care group Rutherford Health has reported an increase in interim revenues and growth in overall patient numbers despite the impact of Covid 19 on cancer patients and healthcare in general.

In the six months to 31 August 2020 revenue at the business rose up 43 per cent to £3.575m compared to the first half of the previous financial year.

A driver of revenue growth was from proton beam therapy.

However, the business made an operating loss during the six months of £15.2m, widened from £12.4m.

During the period, Rutherford signed contracts with Equitix to lease up to five diagnostic centres with the first centre confirmed in Taunton Somerset and expected to be ready at the end of 2021.

Revenues in the second half of the year are set to further boosted by the new mobile diagnostic facilities that Rutherford commenced in August 2020 in Taunton and the expanding services of mammography and ultrasound availability across the Rutherford Cancer Centres.

Chief executive Mike Moran said Rutherford had proven “very resilient to the current pandemic”.

“At the start of lockdown, we established an operations room in our HQ in Hereford which was staffed by the CEO, FD, the general manager of Rutherford Health and Head of Professional Standards. This team was responsible for the coordination of our response to the pandemic.

“The benefit was immediate, with 98.5 per cent of staff available for work (with 1.5 per cent shielding), zero staff on furlough, 45 per cent of staff working from home without a failure in the IT capability, and all centres remaining fully operational for patients to receive treatment as required.

“We have introduced Healthcare Patient Co-ordinators at each centre to check all visitors are free from infection, and to brief them on the measures that are in place to ensure that each Rutherford Cancer Centre maintains a Covid free environment. In addition, we have introduced monthly Covid testing for all staff to ensure that we maintain our Covid free status.

“With the current cancer care backlog faced by the NHS, we remain fully available to help in any way we can to ensure that cancer treatments are not adversely affected by the pandemic. Two of the Rutherford Cancer Centres have recently signed NHS contracts in England and Wales for diagnostic services and a number of NHS contracts are being negotiated at present.”

Looking ahead, he added: “Despite Covid 19 and the significant backlog in cancer biopsies, diagnostics and surgery, the company continues to have a strong pipeline of patients and expects to continue to grow revenue over the coming months.  The focus is now on developing the pipeline of patients further while managing our costs to achieve a sustainable, long-term business.

“Despite the growth in revenue through the first six months of the financial year, the company expects to make losses in the current financial year. Cashflow forecasts have been prepared to support the going concern assumption, and these include short term revenue growth and additional equity or debt investment which may not materialise. The directors remain confident that further investment will be received when required. We envisage this to be in the early new year.”

Rutherford Health (formerly known as Proton Partners International) opened its first centre in South Wales, followed by two further sites – the Rutherford Cancer Centre North East in Northumberland and the Rutherford Cancer Centre Thames Valley in Reading, with proton therapy now available in both.

A fourth site has also opened in Liverpool, the Rutherford Cancer Centre North West.