New St Albans orthopaedic centre opened with virtual ceremony
The centre will allow West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust to provide more treatments and services within the department, improving patients’ experience and freeing up capacity in other areas. Picture: West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust - Credit: Archant
The new orthopaedic centre at St Albans City Hospital has been officially opened in a virtual ceremony.
St Albans MP Daisy Cooper opened the ceremony and delivered her speech from her back garden to adhere to strict visiting restrictions, which span all West Herts hospitals.
The centre will allow West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust to provide more treatments and services within the department, improving patients’ experience and freeing up capacity in other areas.
St Albans MP Daisy Cooper opened the ceremony and delivered her speech from her back garden to adhere to strict visiting restrictions, which span all West Herts hospitals. Picture: West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust - Credit: Archant
The centre will cover all orthopaedic sub-specialties, such as lower limb, foot and ankle, spine, hand and upper limb.
Access to a desktop x-ray machine means that some groups of patients will be able to have their x-ray at the same time as their face-to-face appointment, freeing up over 14,000 referrals to the radiology department. This will improve efficiency and aims to enhance the patient experience.
The centre will allow West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust to provide more treatments and services within the department, improving patients’ experience and freeing up capacity in other areas. Picture: West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust - Credit: Archant
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The new centre also features a one-stop hand service. Day case procedures are performed in the centre’s multi-treatment rooms, which frees up the hospital’s theatre complex for other operations.
A space for ‘schools’ or a large seminar room has also been included in the new development to prepare lower limb, spine and upper limb patients for hospital admission.
The centre will allow West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust to provide more treatments and services within the department, improving patients’ experience and freeing up capacity in other areas. Picture: West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust - Credit: Archant
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According to the hospital, external reviewers have “heaped praise” on this initiative and the ‘schools’ have received “fantastic” feedback from patients.
Mr Simon West, divisional director for surgery, anaesthetics and cancer at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has been at the forefront of activity for the past six months, however we have continued to work hard to improve our non-COVID services during this time.
The centre will allow West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust to provide more treatments and services within the department, improving patients’ experience and freeing up capacity in other areas. Picture: West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust - Credit: Archant
“The new orthopaedic centre has allowed access to our services to become as simple and safe as possible for our patients.
The improved facilities and increased services now available within the new centre will improve our patients experience and give other departments more capacity.”
