Working in partnership with Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (BH) and The Rotherham Hospital Foundation Trust (TRFT), colleagues at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH) are leading the programme to implement a new, dedicated orthopaedic hub for the people of South Yorkshire.
This project was possible following an investment of almost £15m from NHS England (NHSE).
Health professionals will undertake hip and knee replacement inpatient procedures alongside foot and ankle, hand and wrist, and shoulder day-case surgery.
Known currently as the Montagu Elective Orthopaedic Centre (MEOC), the facility will feature:
- Two state-of-the-art theatre units
- Two anaesthetic rooms
- A recovery suite
This project was possible following an investment of almost £15m from NHS England (NHSE).
The facility will also include a dedicated orthopaedic facility that will include 12 additional inpatient beds.
The development will also benefit from its placement within Montagu Hospital, co-located with rehabilitation services and with access to the planned Community Diagnostic Centre and a hydrotherapy pool.
In the first year of operation, it is envisaged that the centre will undertake over 2,000 orthopaedic procedures on behalf of the three partner trusts, equating to about 40% of the current orthopaedic waiting list locally.
Another benefit of its location in Mexborough is that Montagu Hospital is that the site does not provide emergency services.
Construction begins this week and is expected to take around seven months to complete with the new centre opening to patients in early 2024.
This means that, despite peaks in activity within the wider acute hospitals, the MEOC will be ringfenced and protected against the usual cancellations and postponements which can, unfortunately, be common as staff are moved elsewhere to help manage emergency pressures, particularly in winter.
Construction begins this week and is expected to take around seven months to complete with the new centre opening to patients in early 2024.
Jon Sargeant, Executive Director of Recovery, Innovation and Transformation at DBTH, said: "This is a fantastic development and will see us significantly reduce the waiting list for operations such as knee and hip replacements, as well many other elective orthopaedic procedures."
"Working with our partners at Barnsley and Rotherham, we will be able to offer state-of-the-art facilities in a setting which is immune from the usual cancellations we often see within hospital settings. Furthermore, it will help to outline our ambitions for Montagu Hospital as a centre of excellence for elective and diagnostic care, ensuring we are making the most of the site, and its unique and accessible location within the Dearne Valley," Sargeant concluded.
In the first year of operation, it is envisaged that the centre will undertake over 2,000 orthopaedic procedures on behalf of the three partner trusts
Analysis provided by South Yorkshire Integrated Care System (ICS) outlines that the region’s waiting list is around 43% greater than it was in March 2020.
At present, 2,500 patients have waited over 52 weeks for their operation, of which two thirds are waiting for an orthopaedic procedure.
Bob Kirton, Deputy Chief Executive at Barnsley Hospital, said: "This investment provides an excellent opportunity for the people of South Yorkshire to benefit from easier access to the services and care that they need. I am really looking forward to the unit opening later this year."
It is anticipated that, with shared staffing and additional capacity, the centre will operate on patients from across the region.
