£10.6m surgical theatres plan to ease backlog of Wirral patients waiting for treatment

More than £10m will be spent on reducing NHS backlogs in the wake of the covid pandemic by building new surgical theatres in Wirral.

£10.6m has been given to Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH), the main hospital Trust in the borough, in a plan which will see around 3,000 patients per year treated at two new modular theatres to be built at Clatterbridge Hospital.

Elective procedures nationally have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as winter pressures, creating a backlog of patients waiting for treatment.

This plan will create what is referred to as 'cold site' capacity, in that the theatres will be built away from the busy Arrowe Park Hospital and provide enhanced infection, prevention and control, away from patients who require admission for respiratory viruses such as covid or flu.

The money comes from the NHS' Targeted Investment Fund to clear the backlog of people waiting for elective surgery.

It is hoped the new theatres will also reduce cancellations of surgery on the day, which have resulted from pressures on bed capacity.

This means the plan should significantly improve patient experience and reduce the amount of valuable operating time which is wasted.

The new theatres will treat large numbers of patients from across the region who require less complex surgery.

They will also reduce the backlog of those patients with less urgent needs, with a focus on patients who have been waiting for more than 52 weeks for treatment.

The work on the theatres is already underway and they are expected to be up and running this summer.

Dr David Levy, regional medical director for NHS England-Improvement in the North West, said: "The pandemic had a disproportionate impact on the North West region. The Targeted Investment Funds are aimed to be precisely applied in areas where we can draw on a large catchment of patients who have been awaiting surgery.

"We want to catch up on delayed procedures as quickly as possible, which will be accelerated if we have additional capacity brought on stream."

Dr Nikki Stevenson, medical director and deputy chief executive at WUTH, said: "We are delighted to have had this important funding. It will significantly help us to treat many more patients who will unfortunately have been waiting for elective surgery.

"This is part of our commitment to reducing the number of patients waiting for surgery and improving patient experience.

"Throughout the pandemic we have continued to care for those in need of urgent surgery, however this is part of our plan to provide treatment as quickly as possible for those less urgent cases.

"This is an innovative project enabling real collaboration between NHS organisations in the region so we can offer treatment for patients not just in Wirral but across the Cheshire and Merseyside community."

The theatres are 'modular' buildings, meaning they are largely pre-built before arriving on site, reducing time, and they will be constructed onto the side of the current theatres at Clatterbridge Hospital.