Work on the final phase of a £13.7 million surgical hub is underway at Kendal’s Westmorland General Hospital.
The creation of the surgical hub, along with work to build a new £8.6million Community Diagnostic Centre to house the latest scanning technology, takes recent investment in the hospital to £22.3m, the NHS said.
The surgical hub will be for elective care and will feature the following:
- A new four storey extension
- Two completely new operating theatres
- Upgrading of three existing theatres
- A new plant room with new air handling systems
- Extension of the existing operating theatres’ recovery area
- Siting of all of the surgical wards, theatres and associated services on the same floor
- ‘Ultra clean’ canopy technology in all theatres
- New support spaces, storage and ancillary spaces
- All facilities located in close proximity to the new diagnostic centre for ease of access to specialist scanning and diagnostic technology.
The surgical hub is due to open in July.
Samantha Pugh, theatres matron, said: “We really welcome this investment. Our new hub will provide 360 degrees of care – all aspects of surgical care and treatment will be provided in the hub.
“We have already started the transformation into a Surgical Hub and we’ve had very positive feedback from patients who have told us they have really enjoyed being on the surgical ward and having more one-to-one care. Patients have said they felt that staff gave them time and real support.
“Colleagues have also said they like the new and modern environment. We went to the Westmorland County Show to engage with the local community and people were very interested and happy to hear about the new hub.
“At Kendal we have very experienced staff who take great pride in their work. There’s a real family atmosphere because we see patients right from the beginning of their care through to the end. It’s nice being part of a big team. Having everyone in one place is going to be a real benefit for patients and for the team’s morale. It will make working here even better and safer for everyone. With every new theatre that opens, it’s a really big tick and a real sense of achievement.”
Daniel Bakey, associate director of operations for the surgery and critical care group, said: “The development has been many years in the making. As we approach the completion of the current phase, we are extremely excited to have modern, purpose built theatres that are fit for the 21st century. We want to deliver the very best treatment in the very best environment and this supports that.
“There are many advantages to the development, one of the main ones being that we will be able to do support more routine, urgent and cancer surgery. We have already undertaken a significant exercise to redesign our theatre timetable, delivered a project to reduce length of stay for hip and knee replacements and to commence expanding the hub prior to the capital works completing.”
