Surgical hub to expand across Croydon to help bust COVID-19 backlogs
Surgical hub to expand across Croydon to help bust COVID-19 backlogs
One of 50 new surgical hubs is to open in Croydon to care for more people needing vital operations and help bust the COVID-19 backlogs.
Croydon University Hospital has already set the standard as the “blueprint” for COVID-19 recovery, by opening a virus-secure ‘hospital within a hospital’ to keep patients safe and keep NHS services running throughout the pandemic.
Opening across the country, the new centre in Croydon will create another two operating theatres to shorten waiting times and expand the services available to care for residents in the north and south of one of London’s biggest boroughs.
The new surgical hub at the Trust’s sibling hospital, Purley War Memorial Hospital in south Croydon, will expand the current facilities of the Purley Elective Centre. With dedicated staff and additional facilities, including new surgical theatres, short-stay wards and diagnostic services, the Purley Elective Centre will treat patients needing low complexity procedures, such as treatment for hand surgery, treatments for varicose veins and gynaecological procedures.
The expansion of the Purley Elective Centre will not only increase capacity to help the local NHS treat people more quickly, but also free-up the Trust’s main surgical theatres at Croydon University Hospital to undertake more complex operations, including caring for patients referred from other hospitals, to maximise efforts to clear the COVID-19 backlogs.
Stella Vig, Consultant Surgeon and Clinical Director for COVID-19 Recovery at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, said:
“This is fantastic news for our patients in Croydon and for our hard-working staff. By opening a ‘hospital within a hospital’ we were able to keep patients safe from the virus and were quickly back above 100% pre-lockdown levels for routine care.
“We know we can do more and the expansion of the Croydon and Purley Elective Centres, will help us deliver extra procedures and know that more people are getting the care they need, whilst busting the backlogs and putting the pandemic behind us.”
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust has safely cared for more than 26,000 patients needing planned care since the first wave of the pandemic, whilst continuing to care for people affected by COVID-19 in one of London’s hardest hit boroughs.
Around 3,000 patients have also been referred to Croydon by nearby NHS trusts to help tackle the COVID backlogs and reduce waits, as part of a coordinated approach across south London.
The 50 new surgical hubs in England is backed by £1.5 billion government funding to deliver almost two million extra routine procedures across the country over the next three years.