Work is set to start on a new surgical theatres building at the James Paget University Hospital which will help reduce surgical waiting lists for patients.
The new Orthopaedic Elective Hub will operate seven days a week and will provide 1400 extra theatre sessions per year - enough capacity for not only the hospital’s annual planned orthopaedic operations but also additional cases from across the Norfolk and Waveney healthcare system.
Its development will in turn free-up theatre sessions in the hospital’s main hospital theatres complex, resulting in thousands of additional procedures for other surgical specialties including urology, gynaecology, general surgery and ear, nose and throat.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has agreed funding of £17 million for the hub, which will have two operating theatres, a post-surgery recovery area and four patient bays.
Building work will begin in Autumn 2023, with the hub opening in July 2024.
James Paget Chief Executive Jo Segasby said: “We are delighted that the DHSC has awarded us this funding, so that we can progress our plans for the new Orthopaedic Elective Hub.
“The hub will focus on providing orthopaedic surgery, with its own dedicated staff, to help us reduce the time that people are waiting for their procedures, not just locally but across the Norwich and Waveney system as a whole.
“Its creation underlines our commitment to delivering the best possible service for our patients - and is the latest step along the path of creating modern facilities for our patients here at Gorleston, including a new hospital by 2030.”
The hub will be based on land at the northern end of the James Paget site, which is already home to the £15 million Concept Ward, which opened earlier this summer, and the Diagnostic Centre which is currently in the early stages of construction.
The Concept Ward incorporates the latest technology and features mainly spacious single rooms with en-suite facilities, to provide a comfortable environment to aid with patient recovery.
Its initial purpose is to provide additional capacity to allow wards in the main hospital to be ‘decanted’ one-by-one while a programme of refurbishment, including work to the building’s roof, takes place.
Once this programme is completed in 2024, the Concept Ward will provide a ring-fenced in-patient facility connected with the new theatre complex forming the Orthopaedic Elective Hub.
Together, the Orthopaedic Elective Hub, Diagnostic Centre and Concept Ward form the first phase in the creation of a new hospital healthcare campus.
Tracey Bleakley, Chief Executive of NHS Norfolk and Waveney, said: “I am so pleased that this investment will be used to help our patients receive the surgery they need more quickly.
“The development of the Orthopaedic Elective Hub at the James Paget is a prime example of the strong partnership working within our healthcare system, including the acute hospital collaborative, which is delivering the latest care and treatment facilities for the people of Norfolk and Waveney.”
Funding for the Orthopaedic Elective Hub has come from £1.5bn allocation of DHSC capital funding to support the NHS to tackle the COVID-19 backlog of elective care.