A ‘state-of-the-art' operating theatre has opened at Newark Hospital, meaning patients of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust across mid-Nottinghamshire and parts of Lincolnshire can benefit from shorter waiting times for a range of operations.
Members of the hospital’s Theatres team were joined by colleagues from across Sherwood Forest Hospitals recently to officially open the theatre, ahead of the first operations taking place from the week bgeinning 6 November. Operations in ithe theatre will focus on delivering more ‘orthopaedic’ activity, mainly ‘the more simple’ hip, knees, hand, and wrist procedures – including total hip and knee replacements. Additional slots for general surgery, breast surgery, gynaecology, and ophthalmology, will also be available across the Newark theatre complex.
The Newark Elective Hub is an important part of the Trust’s drive to increase elective activity and reduce waiting times for patients, and is separated from its emergency pathway, which is delivered at King’s Mill Hospital, allowing surgical teams at Newark Hospital to focus on planned procedures. This means the site is less affected by cancellations – for example due to winter pressures, industrial action, or patients needing emergency surgery.
The project, known as the Newark Elective Hub, received £5.6 million from NHS England’s Targeted Investment Fund (TIF), with the aim of delivering up to 2,600 more operations and procedures each year. It has created around 30 new medical, nursing, and clinical support roles.
David Ainsworth, director of Strategy and Partnerships at Sherwood Forest Hospitals, said: “We are proud to have opened this new theatre suite, which will mean more patients can get the treatment they need and get back to living a fuller life, faster. The theatre is great news, not only for patients in our local communities, but also for our Newark Hospital colleagues working across a range of teams. It will provide greater job satisfaction, helping us attract and retain the very best colleagues.”
The theatre, which sits alongside the hospital’s two existing theatres, is characterised by minimal distances between each stage of the patient journey – from check-in, to theatre, recovery, and discharge, to make the whole process as efficient as possible. As part of the project, work is underway to upgrade facilities within two existing treatment rooms and the hospital’s medical day case unit.
