St George’s University Hospitals (SGUH) NHS FT have opened a new Surgery Treatment Centre at their Queen Mary Hospital. The centre was constructed in less than four months, and will be begin treating patients next Monday.
It was set up as a result of the pandemic, where some patients have experienced longer waiting times than usual for routine operations and procedures, across south west London.
There will be four dedicated operating theatres and a recovery area at the new centre, only carrying out day procedures over time. It will allow surgical teams to have the protected theatre time needed to provide the routine procedures to patients on the waiting list. The centre will also be used by surgical teams from Kingston Hospital NHS FT.
Jacqueline Totterdell, Chief Executive at SGUH, said: “This is a really positive step forward for the NHS in south west London, and the communities we serve. Local healthcare providers are working together to ensure patients get the treatment they need as quickly as possible.
“Surgical teams from different hospitals will benefit from this new, innovative, purpose-built facility, that will support our recovery from Covid-19, as we reduce the number of patients who are waiting longer than planned for routine procedures.”
Jo Farrar, Chief Executive at Kingston Hospital, said: “We are delighted to be able to make use of this additional theatre capacity on the Queen Mary’s Hospital site, ensuring that more of our patients get the treatment they need in a timely way. It has been great to work with our NHS partners in SW London to get this additional capacity up and running so quickly for the benefit of local people.”
The procedures expected to be carried out at the centre will include plastic surgery procedures for skin cancer, as well diagnostic urology procedures. Other procedures that will also be carried out in the coming weeks, which will include gynaecological, vascular, general surgery, and maxillofacial procedures.
Dr Andrew Murray, Merton GP and Clinical Chair at NHS South West London CCG, added: “Creating this centre in just a few short months is an incredible achievement and is testament to our efforts to build back NHS services now that Covid-19 hospital cases have reduced thanks to the vaccination programme’s success.
“The opening of this fantastic new facility is not only good news for our patients in the Roehampton and Wandsworth areas, but also for people across south west London as the NHS, which aims to rapidly recover routine services affected by the pandemic and ensure people get the treatment they need as quickly as possible.”
