Our hospital
Mildmay is a charitable hospital based in East London.
We are proud to be a key partner of the NHS, providing essential healthcare services under contract.
We provide structured pathways of rehabilitation, treatment, services, and care for people with complex and severe HIV-related health conditions, including HIV-associated brain impairment (also known as HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder or HAND).
In 2020, we added the Step-Down Homeless Medical Care Pathway. In 2022, we once again enhanced our services for people who are homeless with the addition of our REBUILD Pathway, providing post-detox inpatient rehabilitation care for patients who are homeless or rough sleeping.
We maintain a pool of expertise and knowledge that is unsurpassed in Europe.
The average cost of a bed at Mildmay Hospital is £455 per day
Mildmay bed costs vary from £400 to £511.35 per day, depending on the agreed contract rate and, importantly, include all clinical treatment, therapies and social care.
Crucially, this makes us far more cost-effective than a standard bed in an NHS hospital, which costs £345, but excludes any treatment or other costs, and a critical care bed costs a minimum of £1,881 per day.
Why Mildmay Hospital is Cost-Effective
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Integrated Services: Mildmay offers a comprehensive package that includes all clinical treatments, therapies, and social care within the daily bed cost. In contrast, the NHS separates costs for treatment, therapies, and care from the basic bed cost. This integration reduces the need for additional services, lowering the overall cost.
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Specialisation in Care: Mildmay specialises in rehabilitation, including neurorehabilitation and care for patients recovering from complex conditions such as HIV and addiction. This targeted expertise allows the hospital to focus resources efficiently, ensuring patients receive specialised care without the general overheads of larger NHS facilities.
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Lower Overheads: Mildmay operates as a charity, providing services for NHS patients but with fewer administrative and operational costs than large NHS hospitals. Charitable donations, efficient use of resources, and targeted funding reduce the financial burden on the hospital, which can be reflected in the bed costs.
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Smaller Scale: As a smaller, focused hospital, Mildmay can streamline its operations and offer tailored, patient-centric care. This results in higher efficiency in service delivery compared to large NHS hospitals, where the complexity and scale of operations can lead to higher costs per bed.
How Much Does it Cost to Run a Charitable Hospital?
On average, it costs over £4 million annually (or about £12,000 per day) to keep Mildmay open (depending on our mix of patients).
Our NHS contracts fund about 90 per cent of our actual costs, and we need to raise the rest (still la considerable amount) from charitable donations to maintain and improve our services and facilities.
We are a charity providing specialist services to the NHS, not an NHS or private hospital, so we don't make a profit - ALL charitable income is invested in our services and facilities.
Our Services
HIV Pathway
Patients arrive at Mildmay in need of 24-hour care, with some being unable to walk or talk when first admitted.
Mildmay provides a range of therapies and medical care combined with medication and rehabilitation, which means that 85 per cent of patients return to independent living in the community upon discharge from Mildmay.
Patients from all over the country are referred to the hospital and for many their lives are transformed beyond recognition.
There is strong evidence that people who sleep rough experience some of the starkest health inequalities in London.
The average age of death of a person who sleeps rough in England is under 50 years old. People who sleep rough also experience higher levels of multiple, complex co-morbidities than other groups including substance misuse and physical and mental health problems. Their lack of stable accommodation is a further barrier to engagement with treatment and healthcare which in turn creates a revolving door of homelessness, addiction, ill health and early death.
Step-down Homeless Medical Care Pathway
Mildmay delivers medical and rehabilitative care and treatment for people who are homeless or rough-sleeping and recuperating from illness or injury.
Our medical respite/rehabilitation services help to prevent serious illness and unplanned hospital admissions, making Mildmay more cost-effective than standard care.
REBUILD (post-detox) Pathway
Patients are admitted to Mildmay after being stepped down following detoxification treatment at acute centres in London like the Addiction Clinical Care Suite for homeless people at Guy's and St. Thomas’s Hospital.
We provide safe and effective inpatient post-detoxification, stabilisation and recovery-focused care for people who sleep rough, are in hostel accommodation and/or are at risk of returning to the streets.
Mildmay Hospital is currently developing and piloting additional neuro-rehabilitation and neuro-psychological services, including a Neuro 2B Pathway.
For more information, please contact the Admissions Manager:
Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care
Chaplains promote pastoral, spiritual and religious well-being through skilled, compassionate, person-centred care. This is available to our patients, their families and carers, and to staff, volunteers and students. The chaplaincy enables people to celebrate according to their religion or belief and support those facing very difficult situations such as the death of a loved one, psychosis, being diagnosed with life-threatening conditions, and people who are receiving end-of-life care.
In 2019 an Estimated 106,890 People Were Living With HIV in the UK.
People with a late diagnosis are much more likely to develop severe health conditions. This includes HIV associated neurocognitive disorders, which can present with symptoms similar to severe dementia.
93% of these people are diagnosed, and therefore know that they have HIV, but around 1 in 14 people living with HIV in the UK do not know that they have the virus and are at risk of passing HIV on to others.
As people are now living longer with HIV, the number of people with an HIV diagnosis who are aged 50 and over has seen an increase in recent years. Two in five people accessing HIV care in 2018 were aged 50 or over.
Rough Sleeping is on the Rise.
As a frontline homelessness organisation, we deliver positive outcomes for those experiencing homelessness.
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The number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2023 has risen by 27% since 2022. This is a decrease of 9% since 2019, which was before the introduction of COVID-19 related measures and is 18% lower than the peak in 2017. It is an increase of 120% since 2010 when the snapshot approach was introduced.
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The rate of people sleeping rough on a single night in England in 2023 is 6.8 people per 100,000. This has increased since 2022 (5.4 per 100,000), though remains lower than the peak in 2017 (8.5 per 100,000)
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Rough sleeping has increased in every region of England compared to the previous year.
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The largest increase in the number of people estimated to be sleeping rough is in London, where there were 1,132 people this year compared to 858 people in 2022, an increase of 274 people or 32%.
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Nearly half (46%) of all people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn are in London and the South East, which is similar to previous years.*
*Data from gov.uk
Support Us
Mildmay is part-funded by the NHS for providing services, meaning that charitable contributions and donations are essential for maintaining, enhancing and developing our services.
This comes from charitable giving by donors, via legacies, church support, through company giving and from grants from charitable trusts and foundations.
Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England.
It monitors, inspects and regulates services that provide health and social care, including the category within which Mildmay Mission Hospital sits: 'treatment, care and support provided by hospitals, GPs, dentists, ambulances and mental health services'.
“Mildmay Mission (Hospital) is a unique and impressive hospital. Staff provided additional support for patients, beyond clinical care. They had a detailed, holistic understanding about their patients’ lives and needs."
Professor Sir Mike Richards
The Chief Inspector of Hospitals
April 2017
Mildmay's CQC registration number is 1-2151037387.
Prince Harry Formally Opened Our New Hospital in 2015
HRH Prince Harry’s visit to Mildmay at the end of 2015 marked the official opening of our brand new, purpose-built hospital which replaced earlier buildings.
Harry also visited Mildmay to be interviewed for the excellent BBC One documentary The Truth About HIV which aired in 2017.
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana visited Mildmay numerous times from 1989 to 1997 and had a profound impact in breaking through the stigma around HIV and AIDS.
Today, thanks in part to Diana's support for our hospital, Mildmay is still at the forefront of HIV treatment and rehabilitation.
Our History
Mildmay’s origins stretch back to the mid-1860s and the work carried out by The Reverend William Pennefather, a vicar at St Judes, and his wife Catherine.
William Pennefather (1826-1873)
by unknown artist
stipple engraving, mid 19th century
NPG D11183
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Our Patrons
Mildmay’s patrons are an incredible source of support and inspiration for us. Their commitment to our cause reflects not only a deep belief in the importance of compassionate care but also a dedication to helping some of the most vulnerable in society. By lending their influence, time, and resources, they play a crucial role in advancing our work.
