What DHU Healthcare UK does

DHU Healthcare UK is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) that delivers NHS-commissioned urgent, primary, and community healthcare services across the Midlands and adjacent regions, tracing its origins to a 1989 Derbyshire GP cooperative. The organisation operates the largest single NHS 111 service in England, answering approximately 5 million calls annually — roughly one in every four calls nationally — through four main call centres in Derby, Chesterfield, Leicester, and Oldbury, using clinical decision support systems and a digital e-Triage platform.

Its service portfolio spans NHS 111, multiple Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs) in Derby, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and Corby, five directly managed GP practices serving over 37,000 registered patients, Out-of-Hours GP services, Community Nursing, Palliative Care, and the Community Virtual Ward (with Falls Pathway) that delivers hospital-level acute care at home. Technology infrastructure is built on Adastra and SystmOne clinical IT platforms, supplemented by point-of-care diagnostics, video consultation, and remote monitoring capabilities — with ISO 27001 certification across core sites and CQC OUTSTANDING ratings for NHS 111 and Urgent Care North Services.

DHU's business model is entirely B2G, with revenue derived from NHS England and regional Integrated Care Boards (Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Rutland, Northamptonshire) for commissioned service contracts. With approximately 3,000 colleagues, the organisation reinvests surpluses into frontline services and staff development rather than distributing to shareholders, and has been expanding geographically through new contract wins (West Midlands NHS 111 in 2022, Corby UTC in 2025, Rutland Minor Illness and Injury Service in April 2026) and joint ventures such as the 2019 partnership with Milton Keynes Urgent Care Services CIC.

Name

DHU Healthcare UK

Legal name

DHU Healthcare CIC

Website

https://dhuhealthcare.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

DHU Healthcare UK is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that delivers NHS-commissioned NHS 111, Urgent Treatment Centre, GP, and community healthcare services to 10-11 million people across the Midlands, operating as the largest single NHS 111 provider in England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Derby

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. NHS Contract Services: DHU Healthcare operates as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) providing NHS-funded healthcare services under contract to NHS England and regional Integrated Care Boards. Revenue comes from commissioning contracts for NHS 111, urgent treatment centres, GP out-of-hours services, primary care, and community nursing services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

DHU Healthcare UK is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that delivers NHS-commissioned healthcare services across the Midlands, primarily NHS 111 (handling ~5 million calls annually, one in four in England), Urgent Treatment Centres, GP out-of-hours services, primary care at five GP practices, Community Virtual Ward home-based acute care, and community nursing. Services are funded through contracts with NHS England and regional Integrated Care Boards, with all surpluses reinvested into frontline services.

Product overview

DHU Healthcare is a not-for-profit community interest company providing integrated NHS healthcare services across the Midlands. The core product portfolio centres on NHS 111 (the largest single provider in England, handling one in four national calls), Urgent Treatment Centres (multiple locations across Derby, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and Corby), and General Practices (five GP surgeries serving 37,000+ patients). These are supported by community-based services including the Community Virtual Ward (with Falls Pathway), Out of Hours GP Services, Community Nursing, GP Home Visiting, Primary Care Streaming, Phlebotomy, and Palliative Care. The NHS 111 First module enables appointment booking. DHU Academy provides internal training including the Emergency Contact Handler Apprenticeship and Care Certificate programmes. Services operate 365 days/year, 24/7, covering populations of 10-11 million across the East Midlands and beyond.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NHS 111 Service 24/7 telephone helpline for non-emergency medical advice, handling approximately 5 million calls annually (one in every four calls in England). Operated by Health Advisers, Clinical Advisers (Nurses, Pharmacists, Paramedics), and Dental Nurses for the Midlands public and surrounding regions.
• Urgent Treatment Centres (UTCs) Walk-in centres providing treatment for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions across multiple locations in Derby, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, and Corby, offering on-site diagnostics including X-ray, blood tests, ECG, and point-of-care testing. Open 8am–8pm with walk-in and NHS 111 appointment access.
• General Practices (Primary Care) Primary care services delivered at five GP surgery locations in Leicester and Derbyshire: Thurmaston Health Centre, Bowling Green Street, Heron and St Matthews, Eyam and Bradwell, and Buxton Medical Practice, serving over 37,000 registered patients.
• Out of Hours GP Services GP out-of-hours services providing medical care outside normal surgery hours, including telephone triage and home visiting across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, and Northamptonshire.
• Community Virtual Ward Hospital-level acute care provided in patients' own homes with remote monitoring and 24/7 clinical support, including a Falls Pathway for patients who have experienced a fall. Capacity to look after 50 patients at any one time.
• Community Nursing Services Out-of-hours district nursing covering evening and overnight shifts, delivering assessment, interventions and patient-centred outcomes for patients with urgent nursing needs across the Midlands.
• GP Home Visiting Services Home visits by GPs for patients unable to travel to clinics, reducing hospital admissions and preventing serious illness across the Midlands region.
• Primary Care Streaming Service within Emergency Departments that directs patients to the most appropriate care setting (GP rather than emergency care), improving patient flow and reducing ED crowding.
• Phlebotomy Services Blood sample collection services supporting diagnostic testing for patients in community settings as part of DHU's community and urgent care offering.
• Palliative Care Home Visiting Weekend palliative care services providing end-of-life care support in patients' homes, with DHU also taking on Northamptonshire Palliative and End of Life Care Service.
• Minor Illness and Injury Service Service providing care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions including chest infections, minor injuries and suspected fractures, launched in Rutland in April 2026.
• Community Hospital Medical Cover Medical staffing and cover provided for community hospitals across the Midlands region as part of DHU's integrated urgent care offering.
• Corby Urgent Treatment Centre Urgent Treatment Centre in Corby, Northamptonshire, taken on by DHU in November 2025, delivering urgent care for local patients with e-Triage digital assessment and 95% of patients treated on site without referral to A&E.
• NHS 111 First Booking system allowing NHS 111 to schedule arrival times at urgent treatment centres, reducing wait times and improving patient flow for NHS 111 callers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 5 million NHS 111 calls answered annually - one in four calls in England
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ELR GP Fed Ltd (East Leicestershire and Rutland GP Federation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2023Partnership signed to ensure services are better protected during times of high demand on health services in the Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland area.
• Milton Keynes Urgent Care Services CICcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Joint Venture partnership between DHU Healthcare CIC and Milton Keynes Urgent Care Services Community Interest Company (MKUCS CIC) to provide Integrated Urgent Care services in the Milton Keynes region.
• Leicester City HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2017Partnership for Merlyn Vaz Healthcare Hub and The Heron and St Matthews General Practices, jointly managing urgent care and primary care services in Leicester.
• 4FED (Four Federation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Joint venture partner for West Leicestershire Integrated Urgent Care Services including Leicester Urgent Care Centre (LUCC).
• NHS EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary commissioning partner for NHS 111 and urgent care services across the Midlands region. DHU holds major NHS contracts for delivering NHS 111, urgent treatment centres, and community services.
• Derbyshire Blood BikesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedical courier charity delivering diagnostic samples, medication, blood products, and donor breast milk for DHU services across Derbyshire. Carries out more than 8,000 journeys supporting over 120,000 patients annually.
• London Ambulance ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDHU continues to support the London Ambulance Service with non-urgent calls as part of mutual aid arrangements.
• UHUK (Urgent Health UK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDHU is a member of UHUK Partnership, the representative body for urgent care providers in the UK NHS sector.
• East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner in the Provider Collaboration of the Year Award for work with the Unscheduled Care Co-ordination Hub in 2023.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• HUC (Herts Urgent Care): Not-for-profit provider of NHS 111 and Integrated Urgent Care services across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, West Essex and Luton. Same CIC-style model as DHU and fellow UHUK member bidding on similar regional 111 contracts.
• Practice Plus Group: Independent UK provider of NHS urgent treatment centres, GP and acute services. Directly comparable to DHU as a non-NHS-trust operator of UTCs and integrated urgent care contracts, previously backed by Bridgepoint.
• Medvivo: UK urgent care provider delivering NHS 111, GP out-of-hours, urgent treatment and clinical assessment services in the South West. Same not-for-profit ethos and fellow UHUK partner, directly comparable to DHU's service mix.
• IC24: Social enterprise providing NHS 111, GP out-of-hours and urgent care services across the South East. Directly competes with DHU for ICB urgent care tenders and is a fellow UHUK partner.
• Totally plc (Vocare): UK urgent care provider operating NHS 111, UTCs, GP out-of-hours and urgent care services. Closest direct competitor to DHU's NHS 111 and integrated urgent care model after acquiring Vocare.

Broad incumbents

• West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust: NHS ambulance trust that previously held the West Midlands NHS 111 contract before losing it to DHU in March 2022. Comparable urgent-care provider in the same geography, now a competitor for adjacent contracts.
• East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust: NHS ambulance trust covering the East Midlands, a former DHU collaboration partner (Provider Collaboration of the Year Award 2023). Comparable urgent-care footprint in the same geography but as an NHS trust rather than CIC.
• London Ambulance Service NHS Trust: NHS trust providing emergency and urgent care across London. DHU supports LAS with non-urgent calls via mutual aid; comparable in scale of 111/999 call handling but as a state-owned trust rather than independent provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DHUHealthCare

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DHU Healthcare UK