The Operating Theatre Journal - Journal - Page 21
Have I outlined all my patient’s options, including those that don’t
involve surgery?
Is this a shared decision, in which the patient and I have together
agreed on the best course of action?
New multimillion pound operating
theatre opens at Newark Hospital
What’s next?
UK guidance encourages clinicians to understand the principles that
support shared decision-making. The Three-Talk model, for example,
suggests 3 easy to remember conversational steps:
1. describe choices
2. assess the options and their risks
3. understand patient preferences.
However, guidance often does not refer to surgical decisions, or to
the impact of patients’ circumstances. The researchers suggest that
their 昀椀ndings could be incorporated into shared decision-making
models, acknowledging that the extent of shared decision-making and
opportunities for it can vary. Further research is exploring how shared
decision-making interventions can help with this.
The researchers propose training for clinicians to raise awareness of
different consultation types, and when they are needed, alongside
standardised decision support.
You may be interested to read
This Alert is based on: Shaw SE, and others. Opportunities for shared
decision-making about major surgery with high-risk patients: a multimethod qualitative study. British Journal of Anaesthesia 2023; 131: 56
– 66.
The study is part of the Optimising shared decision-making for high risk
major surgery (OSIRIS) research programme.
A paper from the OSIRIS programme: Change in healthcare utilisation
after surgical treatment: observational study of routinely collected
patient data from primary and secondary care. British Journal of
Anaesthesia 2022; 129: 889 – 897.
An Alert about shared decision-making for people with head and neck
cancer.
Con昀氀ict of interest: One of the authors has received fees and funding
from pharmaceutical companies. Full disclosures can be found in the
original paper.
Funding: This study was funded by the NIHR,
Programme Grants for Applied Research.
A state-of-the-art operating theatre opened at Newark Hospital on
Monday 30 October, meaning that patients across mid-Nottinghamshire
and parts of Lincolnshire can bene昀椀t from shorter waiting times for a
range of operations.
Members of the Hospital’s Theatres team were joined by colleagues
from across Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust on Monday (30 October) to
of昀椀cially open the theatre, ahead of the 昀椀rst operations taking place
from the 6 November.
Operations in the new theatre will focus on delivering more
‘orthopaedic’ activity, mainly focusing on the more simple hips, knees,
hand and wrist procedures – including total hip and knee replacements.
Additional slots for general surgery, breast surgery, gynaecology
and ophthalmology will also be available across the Newark theatre
complex.
The Newark Elective Hub is an important part of the Trust’s drive to
increase elective activity and reduce waiting times for patients.
The Newark site is separated from the Trust’s emergency pathway
that is delivered at King’s Mill Hospital, which allows surgical teams at
Newark Hospital to focus on planned procedures. This means the site
is less affected by cancellations that can occur, for example, due to
winter pressures, industrial action or patients who need emergency
surgery.
The project, known as the Newark Elective Hub, received £5.6million
from NHS England’s Targeted Investment Fund (TIF), with the aim of
delivering up to 2,600 more operations and procedures each year. It
has created around 30 new medical, nursing and clinical support roles.
Patients living not just in Newark and Sherwood, but in surrounding
areas including Mans昀椀eld, Ash昀椀eld and parts of Lincolnshire are being
encouraged to take advantage of the extra appointments by asking
their GP or hospital team if they can have their treatment at Newark
Hospital.
David Ainsworth, Director of Strategy and Partnerships at Sherwood
Forest Hospitals, said: “We are proud to have opened this new theatre
suite at Newark Hospital, which will mean more patients can get the
treatment they need and get back to living a fuller life, faster.
“Patients who are generally 昀椀t and well and meet the criteria to have
their operation at Newark Hospital will automatically be offered an
appointment there. They can expect to receive the same high-quality
care and treatment from our skilled, knowledgeable, dedicated and
friendly teams as they would at King’s Mill Hospital.
“The theatre is great news, not only for patients in our local
communities, but also for our Newark Hospital colleagues working
across a range of teams. It will provide greater job satisfaction, helping
us to attract and retain the very best colleagues.”
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The theatre, which sits alongside the hospital’s two existing theatres,
has been built with both patients and colleagues in mind. There are
minimal distances between each stage of the patient journey from
check in, to theatre, recovery and discharge to make the whole process
as ef昀椀cient as possible.
As part of the project, work is underway to upgrade facilities within
two existing treatment rooms and the medical day case unit at the
hospital to further improve the facilities at Newark Hospital. Work is
due to 昀椀nish on these in early 2024.
In line with the Trust’s plans to ensure Newark is a vibrant and valued
community asset, a new 80-space car park for hospital staff is also being
created in partnership with Newark and Sherwood District Council on
land next to the hospital. This will free up spaces in the main car park
for patients and visitors.
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Issue 398
November
2023
21
