Our Values at Optimal Healthcare
We are SO not just another medical clinic.
We are building Optimal with both passion and deliberate design.
Both Sara and I felt that something critically important had been lost from modern healthcare. Care had become transactional, health too often reduced to symptoms, codes, and bills, and people pursued based on their insurance calibre, not their healthcare need.
At the same time, we have long believed that health is generally not a function of healthcare at all. Health is shaped every day, in a myriad of ordinary moments and decisions, over time. Healthcare has to change if health was to be the outcome, and if the basic human right to health is to be realised, then it has to be accessible and sustainable for all.
Our values are deeply personal. Every aspect of Optimal, internal and external, is an expression of them. They are not there for use just when convenient. It’s our playbook, our rulebook. They are the principles we use to make decisions, and they guide how we treat patients, how we treat each other, and how we think about health itself, not just sickness.
We invite you to discover them and how they play out in realtime.
Health
Health is our reason for being.
For us, health is not simply the absence of disease. It is something precious, fragile, and worth protecting long before it is threatened. It is about vitality, function, resilience, and the ability to live well. It is not simply the absence of illness.
We believe strongly that health is a universal right of humanity, irrespective of means, insurance quality or constraints. It is for all. And so we are building it, for all.
Wellbeing
Wellbeing is how health is experienced.
We believe that health should be experienced as a level of vitality that brings vibrancy to life. Over a lifetime, it extends longevity and healthspan together – more years lived in greater health, with fewer years in ill health.
At Optimal, we’re determined to pursue wellbeing in ways that take our biology, behaviour, beliefs, environment, and circumstance into account, so everybody can achieve the best possible health, with the greatest level of wellbeing. And we’re innovating to make that a reality, always for all.
Integrity
Integrity is the immutable value across all of Optimal.
People place their health and lives in our hands, often at their most vulnerable moments. That demands honesty, openness, and probity in everything we do, in our care, in business, with our staff and in all circumstances.
You need the confidence that our guidance is in your interests, not ours. That means true stewardship. If we err, which is human, integrity demands we are honest and open about it. We believe with utmost conviction that to work in healthcare is a privilege, but that privilege demands the utmost in probity, in every aspect of what we do.
Compassion
Compassion is how healthcare should feel.
Illness and concern bring uncertainty, and deeply unsettling human experiences. Compassion means listening properly, recognising emotions, and being present when you need support. It is so much more than turning clinical expertise into clinical answers.
It also means recognising that those who deliver care are human too. We take seriously the responsibility we have for our team, because compassionate care cannot be delivered by exhausted or unsupported people. At Optimal, compassion shows up in the time we take and the kindness we show. We are never too busy to listen, and we’re innovating to allow compassion to be universal and unlimited.
Passion
It’s the unwavering energy we put into all that we do.
We are building Optimal because we’re passionate about what’s genuinely needed by patients, and in healthcare. Passion is what drives us to keep innovating, improving, learning, and questioning how healthcare can be better.
I have always said that if it is worth doing, it should be done with passion. Sometimes it gets you into trouble, when going with the flow would be easier, but then that’s neither passion, nor integrity, and thus not in our playbook. We do not apologise for this!
Humility
Humility keeps us grounded.
Medicine does not have all the answers, and especially not for health. Health is generally won or lost outside of healthcare. So we believe in being real about that i.e. humble. Your role in your own health is far greater than ours, but ours should be to support you in every way we can, and that is a responsibility we extend well beyond traditional sickness care.
Humility also means being willing to recognise limitations, to act responsibly over profitably, to say sorry when we should, and to learn and improve continuously. Strength in healthcare comes from humility, not ego.
From the Very First Moments of Life
Optimal Healthcare is for all of the family, and our greatest innovation is in adult care. But paediatrics holds particular importance for us.
Sara’s background in paediatrics and neonatology reflects a belief we both share, that health trajectories are shaped from the very first moments of life, and throughout childhood. We support children and families passionately, because we believe it is one of the most powerful ways to influence lifelong health and wellbeing. And because every child, irrespective of circumstances, deserves nothing less.
Want to learn more?
I am extending an open offer to share more.
Our values and beliefs shape everything from organisational design to what it is like to work in Optimal. They are why our focus remains so firmly on health, not just sickness, and why healthcare at Optimal is designed to be personal, thoughtful, and grounded in trust. This is the healthcare we believe in, and the healthcare we are committed to building. And it will be different to anything you have experienced, especially over time. I will enthusiastically share what we are doing, and robustly defend why it is so important, for health.