William Harvey Hospital has received an additional mobile operating theatre from Vanguard Healthcare to boost capacity and help reduce patient waiting times.
The hospital, part of the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, has been using one of Vanguard's units - widely dubbed as ‘pop-up hospitals' - since 2011 to enable the surgical team to conduct an increased number of gynaecological procedures.
William Harvey Hospital provides a range of emergency and elective services in addition to comprehensive maternity, trauma, orthopaedic, paediatric and neonatal intensive care services. Commissioned in 1977 in Ashford, the site has been substantially upgraded and re-organised into medical and surgical floors over recent years.
The hospital is continuing to see high demands for surgery and requested that Vanguard deploy an additional temporary surgical unit to continue reducing waiting times. The additional theatre will add more capacity and allow the hospital's surgeons to conduct maxillofacial and minor orthopaedic surgery.
Ian Monaghan, sales director at Vanguard Healthcare, said: "William Harvey Hospital is just one example of a hospital that has already seen the benefits that a temporary operating theatre can bring to patients, but recognised that the situation could be improved by using a second additional facility.
"The two units are located outside the Kennington ward so the hospital can easily maintain a high standard of patient care and ensure the efficiency, safety and compliance of their amenities. The positive response of the patients since the units were deployed has, I think, reflected the success of the contract to date."
The mobile operating theatres will be on site on a rolling monthly basis.