The Operating Theatre Journal - Flipbook - Page 39
A business case has been developed to invest in two new operating
theatres and the refurbishment of the Aberconwy Ward in Llandudno
Hospital to provide 19 beds for patients who need non-complex
orthopaedic surgery, which might need a short hospital stay.
The business case for the proposal will be considered by the Health
Board this month and Welsh Government later this year.
If the proposal is agreed, these theatres would be built outside the
radiology department, allowing current Llandudno theatre activity to
continue.
Adele Gittoes, Interim Executive Director of Operations at Betsi
Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “This new way of working
at Abergele Hospital is an important part of our plans to tackle the
waiting lists which built up during the COVID-19.
“What we are doing at Abergele Hospital is a proof of concept that we
hope to replicate at Llandudno Hospital which will help to expand our
surgical capacity and will enable patients from across North Wales to
access expert care faster.”
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Daisy Hill: Southern Trust rubber-stamps Craigavon surgery move plan
A permanent move of emergency general
surgery from a Newry hospital to Craigavon
has moved a step closer.
The surgery service was temporarily
withdrawn from Daisy Hill Hospital at the end
of February 2022.
Now, the Southern Health Trust, which oversees
health services in the area, has recommended
it moves permanently to Craigavon Area
Hospital after a public consultation.
The recommendation will be considered by
the Department of Health.
It comes as some services at Daisy Hill have
come under threat due to issues recruiting and
retaining staff.
In June, further service changes were
proposed leading to a protest in Newry.
The trust said the emergency general surgery
decision came after the a report on a 12week public consultation on the future of the
service in the area.
Its medical director Dr Stephen Austin said,
having trialled the approach for 18 months,
delivering surgery from Craigavon was “the
only way we can maintain a safe and effective
service”.
Craigavon Area Hospital to host emergency
general services
The initial move was made due to surgeon
recruitment challenges, an issue which has
been ongoing across Northern Ireland.
Emergency general surgery has also been
temporarily withdrawn from the South West
Acute Hospital (Swah) in Enniskillen, County
Fermanagh.
Dr Austin added: “Hospitals with lower
volumes of emergency general surgery 昀椀nd
it dif昀椀cult to recruit and retain doctors and
many are not able to provide the supporting
services that modern surgical centres require.
“Splitting services and staff across both sites
is simply not sustainable.
“A one-site model is much safer, with support
from sub-specialist colleagues and intensive
care, if needed at Craigavon, to give patients
the high-quality care that they deserve.”
According to the Southern Trust, an average
of three patients each day are directed to
Craigavon from Daisy Hill for emergency
general surgery service.
Emergency general surgery covers unscheduled
services such as specialist advice, admission
for tests and, for some patients, operations.
‘Centralising not the way to go’
However, the move has faced opposition in
Newry by people concerned at the loss of
services.
Francis Gallagher, from the Save Our
Emergency Surgery Campaign Committee, has
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Issue 397
said previously that people who live in Newry
were “very concerned” about having to travel
to Craigavon for emergency general surgery.
“Centralising everything is not the way to go.
Having these huge hospitals is not the way to
go,” he added.
Cathrine Reid, director of surgery and clinical
services at the trust, said it acknowledged
concerns and “understand that people would
value a service closer to home”.
“We have pathways for those who need to
be transferred to Craigavon, to be directly
admitted to the surgical ward, so it is
important that Newry and Mourne patients
attend Daisy Hill 昀椀rst to bene昀椀t from this
process.
“With emergency surgery concentrated at
Craigavon, we now have additional theatre
time at Daisy Hill to bene昀椀t more people
waiting on planned procedures.”
Source: BBC News Northern Ireland
October
2023
39