First patients treated at new elective surgery theatres

[OVER THE SUMMER the first patients went under the knife at a newly-opened Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Kent and Canterbury Hospital. The centre houses four new operating theatres dedicated to treating people needing planned orthopaedic surgery – freeing up theatres and beds at two other hospitals in the East Kent area for trauma and cancer surgery.

It forms part of a national NHS Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) pilot that aims to demonstrate that separating planned inpatient orthopaedic operations from emergency care benefits both sets of patients. Where the changes have been introduced, both in East Kent and elsewhere, waiting times have been reduced and fewer operations have been cancelled.

People who have their operations in the new centre are cared for on two newly-renovated wards: Invicta and St Lawrence.

The centre is designed to treat around 3,500 people a year and was officially opened by East Kent University Hospitals Foundation Trust chief executive Susan Acott at a COVID-safe ceremony also attended by Professor Tim Briggs CBE, national director of clinical improvement for the NHS.

Professor Briggs commented: “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