The first patients have been treated within a new mobile operating theatre at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.
The temporary theatre was supplied by mobile fleet operator, Vanguard Healthcare, to assist Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust in increasing patient access and reducing the risk of cancelling operations.
The facility offers a modern clinical environment featuring an anaesthetic room, two-bed recovery area, and an operating theatre equipped with a laminar flow ventilation system.
In its time at the hospital the unit will be used to carry out a range of general and gynaecological procedures, allowing the trust to organise its waiting lists around the extra capacity. The hospital is forecasting that the unit will allow up to an extra 50 procedures a week to take place.
The unit was officially opened by Redditch Mayor, Pat Witherspoon. He said: “It is great to see this investment in the Alexandra Hospital.
“This modular operating theatre will not just benefit Redditch patients, but patients from around the county who should see both waiting times and the risk of cancellations being reduced. This is great news as it will significantly decrease the emotional, and often financial, impact on patients and their families. I’m very impressed by the facilities – they are very modern and clean.”
Dr Julian Berlet, consultant anaesthetist and divisional medical director for theatres at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, added: “It was a pleasure to show off the new facility to both the Mayor and our own staff. Everyone understood the positive impact that this will have on patients from across the county, as well as the benefits for the trust in terms of efficiency savings and our 18-week referral-to-treatment target.”
