The first patients will be wheeled into East Surrey Hospital’s multi-million pound new state of the art theatres on Monday (15).
The new facilities mark the exciting completion of phase one of a major £14.5 million project at the hospital which is run by Surrey & Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust.
The four theatres promise to provide a much better pre and post-operative experience for patients at the hospital in Earlswood.
Consultant General & Colorectal Surgeon Mr Neil Smith said: “The entire theatre team are looking forward to working in our new larger and more versatile operating theatres that provide a state-of-the-art environment for our surgeons to work in.
“The theatres are future-proof with Laminar flow providing an ultra-sterile environment for all orthopaedic procedures, built-in ceiling-mounted equipment, and high-definition video screens to help our current consultant surgeons train the next generation of trainee surgeons.”
Work on phase 2 of the project will start in January when the existing six theatres will be upgraded and refurbished. The Recovery area, where patients go immediately after leaving the operating theatre, will be enlarged to provide a more comfortable single-sex environment with dedicated areas for higher dependency, maternity and paediatric patients. A larger Recovery area will also allow the staff to treat more patients.
Ian Mackenzie, Director of Information and Facilities added: “Our new theatres are some of the first in the country to have an ultra-clean air ventilation system and this has been shown to have real benefits for patients as it lowers the risk of surgical site infections”.
