The British operator of what is said to be the world’s largest fleet of mobile surgical facilities, Vanguard Healthcare, has clocked up its 150,000th patient procedure in one of its 40-plus vehicletowed mobile surgical facilities.
Vanguard’s specialist fleet – each unit weighs 26 tons, is over 15 metres long, and 8 metres wide – includes operating theatres, endoscopy suites, day surgeries, clinics, wards, and outpatient facilities. The units are increasingly being called upon outside the UK in mainland Europe to help reduce waiting times, increase capacity, and provide cover during hospital refurbishment and expansion. The 150,000th patient underwent a hand procedure in a mobile operating room at the Antonius Hospital in Emmeloord in the Netherlands on 14 December 2011, marking Vanguard’s rapid growth and expansion over the past decade. In the UK, Vanguard has worked closely with the NHS for over a decade. The 65-strong company, a management buy-out from Nuffield Health three years ago, also works with a large number of private hospitals, both in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
