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New £24m surgery ward has 'cut waiting lists'

Ellen Knight
BBC Radio Shropshire
BBC Maj and Clare standing with their arms around each others' shoulders and looking into the camera and smiling. They're both wearing dark navy blue nurses' uniforms - Maj, on the left, has red borders on the collar, and Clare, on the right, has a lighter blue collar. They're both wearing bright yellow NHS name badges - but you can't quite make out what's written on them. They're standing in the entrance to one of the bed bays - a hospital bed is just visible beyond them, and the room has bright white walls and floors. BBC
Maj Kaur, left, is the unit's ward manager and Clare Marsh is matron

A new hospital unit has cut waiting lists for surgeries by carrying out 5,000 operations in its first year, it has claimed.

The £24m Elective Surgery Hub at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford carries out planned procedures like gall bladder removals and hysterectomies.

It opened last June to improve the efficiency of elective surgeries and reduce waiting times.

In the past year, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust reported a trust-wide fall of 16% in waiting times.

The hub itself found surgical activity rose by 34% each month since January.

Mr Saurav Chakravartty, a consultant surgeon at the hub who specialises in upper gastrointestinal and bariatric or weight loss surgery, said:

"In the last twelve months, we've operated on close to 5,000 patients and you can see [our work] in the reduction of waiting lists," he said.

Saurav looking into the camera and smiling slightly. He's wearing a dark grey suit, with a white shirt and a dark blue tie. He's stood in a hospital corridor which has white walls and grey doorframes.
Saurav Chakravartty said staff morale has been "boosted" by the new hub

The unit performs gynaecology, vascular, ophthalmology, orthopaedic, breast, upper GI, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) and maxillofacial procedures, in addition to general surgery.

Ward manager Maj Kaur added that "up to 45" patients could be operated on daily and patients were usually discharged the same day.

"Because we're in one space, there's not so many delays," she said.

A surgical theatre - it's a large room with white walls and a grey floor. There are lots of hospital machines with screens, as well as trolleys on wheels with drawers of equipment. A sign on the wall reads 'Theatre 15' in white writing on a blue background.
The unit has four "state-of-the-art" theatres

Matron Clare Marsh said the unit was based on a loop where patients moved from admission pods to one of four "state-of-the-art" theatres and finally recovery, where extra space for visitors and staff had received "amazing feedback".

The straight-forward nature of the unit makes things simpler for patients, Ms Kaur added.

"I think when you're having surgery you're quite stressed and anxious, so this really calms patients down.

"Visitors can stay in the pods with their relatives which is nice because sometimes you're waiting a while before you go into theatre."

Mr Chakravartty said when staff could do their jobs well and got positive feedback from patients, it boosted morale.

"Staff want to do more and get their patients seen early - you can see the enthusiasm," he added.

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