New centre to cut waiting times
A new centre for orthopaedic operations and diagnostic tests has been officially opened at the James Paget University Hospital.
The James Paget Orthopaedic Centre (JPOC) and Oulton Suite will provide patients with brand new facilities to help them access the care they need more quickly.
The new facility opens it doors on Monday, 13 January, but was officially opened today by Stella Vig, NHS England’s Medical Director for Secondary Care and Quality, and National Clinical Director for Elective Care.
The JPOC, on the ground floor of the new building, will operate seven days a week, helping us bring our waiting times down so that patients get the treatment they need more quickly.
It will provide some 1400 theatre sessions per year, allowing us to operate on more than 3000 patients – more than our current orthopaedic elective capacity.
In turn, its two brand new theatres ‘free up’ two other theatres in our main hospital block, so they can be modernised and refurbished to boost surgical capacity for other specialties, including day care operations, and to create a robotic surgical suite.
The Centre is linked to our Concept Ward, opened in 2023. Together, they provide us with a dedicated orthopaedic facility for the first time. This will enable surgery to continue even at times of peak demand, especially in the winter when elective procedures can be postponed due to more beds being needed by patients requiring emergency care.
Upstairs, the Oulton Suite will provide more than 500 additional diagnostic tests per week for local patients, using the latest tests and medical devices, specialising in tests to help diagnose heart and lung conditions.
It complements the work of the neighbouring Community Diagnostic Centre, which opened last summer and is now providing some 1000 additional imaging tests for patients every week with its CT and MR Scanners and X-Ray and Ultrasound machines.
Together, these new facilities mean that patients will be offered tests more quickly, resulting in swifter diagnoses which are so important for treating many conditions.
The JPOC and Oulton Suite are the latest developments here at the James Paget – and follow the creation of our Community Diagnostic Centre and Concept Ward.
These are the first buildings on our new healthcare campus which ultimately will include a brand new hospital for our community.
Please click on the image below to view our brochure about the new centre.
