NEW GENERATION SURGERY-CENTRES TO CARRY OUT MORE OPERATIONS

23 Dec 2002 10:45 AM

Twelve new NHS fast-track surgery-centres - representing an investment of almost £100 million - which will benefit tens of thousands of people, cutting waiting times for many routine operations and giving patients a choice about where and when they are treated, have been given the go-ahead by Health Secretary Alan Milburn today.

Diagnosis and Treatment Centres (DTCs) provide safe, fast, pre-booked surgery and tests for patients by separating planned, routine operations from unplanned or emergency operations. They are dedicated to carrying out surgery in some of the specialities with the highest waiting times, such as knee, hip and cataract surgery, conditions most often associated with older people. These new centres will help provide the capacity for an extra 37,000 operations a year by 2005.

Patients referred to one of the centres will be able to choose the date and time of their initial appointment - usually within six weeks of referral - and arrange any necessary treatment at a time which suits them.

The NHS already has ten DTCs open and treating 30,000 patients a year with another 19 in development which will benefit an extra 54,000 patients a year by 2005.

This adds up to an ambitious programme of service development by NHS providers. Alongside the NHS investment there will be other DTCs developed and run by the independent sector, making additional resources, staff and skills available to the programme. In total the DTC programme, including those already in place and those coming on stream as a result of today's announcement should mean at least 250,000 extra operations a year by 2005.

An advertisement will be placed in the Official Journal of the European Communities (OJEC) for 11 DTC projects which invites expressions of interest from both UK and overseas independent healthcare providers. The independent providers will either work alone or in a joint venture with the NHS, creating capacity to provide 39,500 operations a year by 2005.

Independent providers will also be invited to propose innovative options for a series of 'chains' of DTCs where one organisation will provide a number of DTCs for cataracts, simple day-case surgery and orthopaedics procedures.

The NHS Plan states that by 2005, no patient will wait more than six months for inpatient treatment. The figures for October 2002 show that the number of patients waiting more than 12 months for inpatient treatment has dropped by 1,200 since last month to 15,500 and is 24,200 less than a year ago.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn said:

"Our programme of Diagnostic and Treatment Centres shows that by combining investment with reform we can produce real results for patients. Waiting tines are coming down but too many patients still wait too long for treatment. By changing working practices by introducing new services and by using spare capacity inside and outside the NHS we can treat more NHS patients more quickly for free. I am determined to ease the dilemmna for people, particularly older people, between being forced to wait in pain for NHS care or being forced to pay for private care. By developing these new services within the NHS and by drawing services from independent healthcare providers into the NHS we can help to ensure that people no longer have to opt out of the NHS to get the faster treatment they need. These new services are about ensuring that more people can be treated according to the NHS prinicple of care according to need and not ability to pay."

Notes to Editors
1. Details of the locally-led NHS DTCs announced today are:

Swindon
The fast-track surgery centre will form part of the new Great Western Hospital and will be built under a private finance scheme with an estimated equivalent capital cost of £27m. It will provide 118 extra NHS beds when complete at the end of 2004. Once fully operational, it will provide 5,556 extra operations a year.

The hospital is run by Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust

Chichester
A £9 million surgery centre to be built at St Richard's Hospital in Chichester will have three operating theatres and a 24-bed ward. It will provide 6000 extra operations a year when fully operational and is expected to open in early 2005. Without the new-style service, Royal West Sussex NHS Trust would have needed an extra ward a year to meet demand.

Chelsea and Westminster
Existing buildings at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital will be refurbished to create a DTC, which is due to open in early 2004. When fully operational, the £4.6 million centre will provide around 3,500 extra operations a year in general surgery and urology. The aim is to reduce waiting times in these two specialities to less than three months. The centre will be run by Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust.

Dartford
Darent Valley Hospital will have the capacity to perform 3,400 extra operations a year when a new DTC opens by autumn 2004. The centre, being built under a private finance scheme with an estimated equivalent capital cost of £6 million will be housed in a new extension to the hospital. The hospital is run by Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust and was the first to open under the private finance initiative.

Orpington
A £5 million surgery centre at Orpington Hospital will provide an extra 2,200 operations each year to people living in Bromley and the surrounding areas. It will help to reduce waiting times in orthopaedics, general surgery, gynaecology and urology. The DTC will be located on the top floor of the hospital. It will have 66 beds and two operating theatres. There will be potential to extend this to 88 beds and four theatres if required in the future.

Cannock
The £2.4 million centre, due to open in September 2003, will provide an additional 6,328 operations a year in orthopaedics and ophthalmology. Mid Staffordshire General Hospitals Trust is making use of empty NHS buildings at Cannock Chase Hospital to house the new centre.

Wrightington
At Wrightington Hospital, Wigan, a £2.5 million surgery centre is expected to open in January 2004. It will help to reduce waiting times for orthopaedic surgery by providing an extra 1,230 operations a year.

Construction is due to start in April 2003. The centre, which will have two new theatres and an upgraded ward, is being developed by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Trust. Wrightington is where Professor Sir John C Harnley developed the first hip replacement surgery.

Pontefract
A £2.5 million centre for elective surgery at Pontefract General Infirmary will serve patients principally from east and west Wakefield. When fully operational in early 2004, it is expected to provide 1,069 additional operations in general surgery and 813 extra orthopaedic cases. There will be a mix of inpatient and day case work, with a progressive increase in day surgery.

Clatterbridge
A £1.2 million development at Clatterbridge Hospital will speed up orthopaedic treatment. Due to be completed in May next year, the centre will include a new theatre and the refurbishment of existing wards. Serving West Cheshire and the Wirral, the centre will ensure that 1,040 extra orthopaedic operations are completed each year.

Aintree
At University Hospital Aintree, a £3.5 million DTC is being built with funding from the Department of Health. It will provide orthopaedic operations, general surgery, ear, nose and throat procedures and urology.

An extra 4,115 patients will be treated each year when the centre is fully operational. Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust expects the first patients to be treated in April next year.

Withington
South Manchester Primary Care Trust is building a new community diagnosis and treatment centre in West Didsbury. The £19.5 million centre will concentrate on treatments and diagnostic tests that can be provided outside a hospital. Due to be up and running by summer 2004, health care staff are expected to treat 7,400 patients a year as day cases, rising to 15-16,000 in future years. Procedures will include cataract removal and minor procedures in urology, gynaecology and oral surgery. In addition, more than 100,000 outpatients are expected to visit clinics specialising in sexual health, alcohol abuse, therapy, audiology, radiology and mammography.

Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham
The £13.6 million DTC will specialise in orthopaedic operations. It will treat an extra 2,000 patients a year.

The centre marks the next stage in a major development of the hospital, which is run by Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust.

2. The 11 locally-driven 'new provider' DTCs being advertised in the OJEC:

LOCATION/SPECIALTY/ADDITIONAL OPERATIONS

North Bristol (Avon Gloucester & Wiltshire) Primary care and day case surgery 3,400

South Bristol (Avon Gloucester & Wiltshire) Primary care and day case surgery 965

Dorset & Somerset Surgicentre Orthopaedics Ophthalmology 2,500 4,200 3,300

South West Peninsula - Plymouth Orthopaedics 2,500

Burton on Trent Orthopaedics Ophthalmology 2,700 1,800

Chesterfield Orthopaedics 2,000

Greater Manchester - Trafford Surgicentre 6600

North Bradford Surgicentre 1,400

Basildon & Thurrock Surgicentre 2,600

Royal National Orthopaedics Hospital Stanmore Orthopaedics 4000

Daventry Ophthalmology 1600

TOTAL 39,565

3. There are currently ten DTCs open at:

University College London Hospital
King's College Hospital
Moorfields Eye Hospital
Ravenscourt Park, Stamford, London
BUPA Redwood, Surrey
Royal Hospital at Haslar, Portsmouth
Royal Berkshire and Battle, Reading
North Hampshire Hospital
Chase Community Hospital, Bordon, Hampshire
Dermatology DTC Newham PCT

There are 19 schemes currently under development that will be located at:

South West London Orthopaedic DTC
Weston
Torbay, South Devon
Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Oxford
Frimley Park
Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow
Erewash PCT, Ilkeston, Derby
Bury St. Edmunds
Goole Hospital, North Lincs
Bishop Auckland
West Middlesex
Birmingham City Hospital
Dudley
Worcestershire, Kidderminster
Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield
Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdon
Southport and Ormskirk
Milton Keynes
Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen