A new theatres complex which will help reduce waiting lists for high demand operations such as knee and hip replacements is now just over a month away from opening.
Staff at the James Paget Orthopaedic Centre will perform the first operations in the brand new building in mid-January - with the first letters inviting patients for their surgery being sent out this week.
The opening of the centre will mark the successful completion of a construction project which started in February on land at the northern end of the James Paget site, which is already home to the new Community Diagnostic Centre, opened earlier this year.
Once fully operational, the new centre will deliver 1400 theatre sessions per year and will operate seven days a week, helping reduce waiting lists in a specialty which continues to see an increase in demand due to an ageing population.
Inside the new building are two modern ‘laminar flow’ operating theatres, with the latest ventilation system to ensure a continuous flow of clean air. There is also a four-bay recovery area and staff facilities including a rest room, and showers.
Patients requiring an overnight stay or longer will recuperate in a modern 28-bed ward immediately next to the centre, linked by a short corridor.
Together, the Orthopaedic Centre and ward will provide the James Paget with a dedicated elective orthopaedic facility for the first time. This will enable surgery to continue even at times of peak demand, especially in the winter, when elective orthopaedic procedures can be postponed due to more beds being needed by patients requiring emergency care.
The new building also houses the new Oulton Suite, which will open in mid-January too. The suite is a Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC), providing diagnostic tests closer to home and in fewer visits. A broad range of elective diagnostics will be provided, including cardiac physiology, respiratory and sleep physiology, and point of care testing. Diagnostic tests will include ECGs, ECHOs, full lung function tests, sleep studies and more.
The Oulton Suite has the potential to provide diagnostic pathways in the future for both adult and paediatric patients – and its opening is the latest phase in a project to create new diagnostic facilities locally.
This project started with the opening of the CDC building immediately next to the Orthopaedic Centre in the summer. It houses the latest diagnostic equipment, including a new MRI and CT scanner, ultrasound imaging equipment and an x-ray room to diagnose and monitor a range of conditions including cancer, heart disease, respiratory diseases, trauma, musculoskeletal diseases and neurology.
Further diagnostic capacity is due to be developed at the Northgate Hospital site in Great Yarmouth and will come on line next year.
The new Orthopaedic Centre has been funded by £17 million from the Department of Health and Social Care and has been built using modern methods of construction by healthcare construction specialists Darwin Group.
To find out more about the centre and its work, you can watch the video below.