Harley Street Gets a Turkish Accent: Liv Hospital Opens its First London Clinic

One of Turkey’s largest private health groups has planted its flag at the heart of British medicine. What does the opening of Liv Harley Street Hospital mean for Turkish patients in the UK — and for the future of health tourism between the two countries?

By TurkishBritish Magazine  |  London  |  July 2026

There is a particular kind of confidence required to open a clinic on Harley Street. For nearly two centuries, the road that runs north from Oxford Street through Marylebone has served as shorthand for medical prestige — a postcode that signals expertise, discretion and a certain expectation of excellence. The consultants who work there tend not to advertise.

Liv Hospital Group, one of Turkey’s most prominent private healthcare brands, is advertising — and has chosen Harley Street deliberately. The opening of Liv Harley Street Hospital, announced at a ceremony attended by the Turkish Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Osman Koray Ertaş, marks the group’s first permanent foothold in the British market. It is a significant moment, both for the organisation and for the broader story of Turkish healthcare in the UK.

A Different Model for Private Care

The clinic at 19 Harley Street operates on a model that differs from the traditional private hospital. Rather than offering inpatient beds, Liv Harley Street has positioned itself around day-case surgery, advanced diagnostics, and same-day consultations — a format that suits the pace of modern healthcare and the expectations of an internationally mobile patient population.

The specialties on offer are broad: orthopaedics, spinal surgery, urology, gynaecology, oral and jaw surgery, pain management, aesthetic and plastic procedures, hair restoration, and comprehensive health screenings. The clinic also offers IV therapies and is preparing to introduce home health services.

A notable feature is the EOS™ 2D/3D imaging system, which uses significantly lower radiation doses than conventional X-ray and CT equipment — a technology more commonly associated with specialist referral centres than standalone private clinics. The system allows for full-body skeletal imaging in a single low-dose scan, which is particularly relevant for the orthopaedic and spinal caseload the clinic is targeting.

A CEO Who Knows Both Worlds

The appointment of Aslı Batten as Chief Executive of the London operation was itself a signal of intent. Batten brings an unusual combination of international finance and senior healthcare management: a career that began at JPMorgan Chase and HSBC before moving into hospital administration and cross-border health partnerships.

In a sector where clinical credibility and commercial acumen do not always travel together, that profile matters. The UK private healthcare market is competitive and well-regulated; the reputational stakes on Harley Street are particularly high.

“Our goal is to bring world-class healthcare to London in a more accessible, faster and more personal way,” Batten said at the opening. The formulation is deliberate — ‘accessible’ and ‘personal’ are exactly the gaps that many patients identify when navigating the NHS or the upper reaches of London’s established private sector.

The Bigger Picture: MLPCare Goes Global

Liv Hospital Group operates under the umbrella of MLPCare, a Turkish healthcare conglomerate with more than 31 years of history and a patient volume running into the millions. MLPCare’s international portfolio already extends to Azerbaijan, Hungary and Kosovo; the London opening represents its most symbolically significant overseas move to date.

The strategic logic is layered. At one level, there is straightforward market opportunity: the UK private healthcare sector is growing, NHS waiting lists remain long by historical standards, and there is an established, health-conscious Turkish community in Britain with purchasing power and a tendency to seek familiar brands. At another level, there is the health tourism dynamic running in reverse — not Turkish patients travelling to London for treatment, but a Turkish brand bringing its standards and its network to London patients.

That reversal matters. Turkish private hospitals have spent the past decade building a sophisticated international reputation, particularly in areas such as hair transplantation, cosmetic surgery and dental care. Liv’s Harley Street presence represents an attempt to extend that reputation into more complex clinical territory, and to do so in a market that carries genuine global weight.

What This Means for Turkish Patients in the UK

For the Turkish community in Britain, the opening carries particular resonance. Navigating the UK healthcare system — whether public or private — can be challenging for patients whose first language is not English, or whose expectations of clinical interaction have been shaped by a different system.

Liv Harley Street’s positioning acknowledges this without making it the dominant marketing message. The clinic describes itself as offering ‘consultant-led’ care from UK-accredited senior physicians, which should provide reassurance about regulatory standards to British patients unfamiliar with the Turkish group. Simultaneously, the Liv brand carries immediate recognition for those with connections to Turkey.

The question of trust — always central in healthcare — runs in multiple directions here. TurkishBritish Magazine will be following the clinic’s progress as it establishes itself, and we plan a longer investigation into the standards and regulation of health tourism between Turkey and the UK later in this issue.