A new surgical centre that is set to benefit thousands of patients a year is now open at Kent and Canterbury Hospital (K&C).
The centre has four state of the art operating theatres which, together with two 24-bed wards, are dedicated to patients needing planned inpatient orthopaedic surgery, such as hip and knee replacements, and will treat around 3,500 people a year.
Speaking at the opening of the new centre, Professor Tim Briggs CBE, National Director of Clinical Improvement for the NHS and Orthopaedic Surgeon, said:
“It’s a joy to see this fantastic new orthopaedic centre open, to deliver the highest quality care and exemplar outcomes for local people. You should be very proud of what you have done to deliver this.”
Susan Acott, East Kent Hospitals Chief Executive said:
“The new surgical centre is a really exciting investment at the hospital that will help us ensure that every patient gets the highest quality care, is treated in state-of-the-art facilities and in a timely way.”
The new centre is the second phase of a national NHS Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT) pilot in east Kent that aims to demonstrate that separating planned inpatient orthopaedic operations from emergency care benefits both sets of patients.
Where these changes have been introduced, both in east Kent and elsewhere, waiting times reduced and fewer operations cancelled.
In addition to the benefits that a dedicated centre of excellence brings to patients and staff, it will also free up theatres and beds at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) and William Harvey hospitals for trauma and cancer surgery.
The centre has been a number of years in the planning, involving many different teams across the Trust and partners including 2Gether Support Solutions and MTX.
Omar Yanni, East Kent Hospitals’ lead doctor for Trauma and Orthopaedics said:
“To see everybody’s hard work come to fruition is fantastic. There’s been so much passion for this project from the many teams involved, who have shown real dedication to getting the centre open for our patients.”
