First patients from West Suffolk Hospital treated at new Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre, at Colchester Hospital
Hip and knee operations have been carried out on Suffolk patients at a new orthopaedic centre in a neighbouring county.
On Monday the trust which runs West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds, delivered its first operating list to the Dame Clare Marx Building at Colchester Hospital.
West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (WSFT), which also runs Newmarket Community Hospital, is moving hundreds of orthopaedic procedures, including knee and hip replacements, to the Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre.
Moira Welham, associate director of operations for surgery and anaesthetics at WSFT, said: “We are excited that on Monday, November 11, a team of West Suffolk Hospital based colleagues delivered the first list of WSFT patients, one of five operating lists running that day, alongside our East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust colleagues.
“It is fantastic that we are now delivering high-quality orthopaedic elective care at both this new, purpose-built facility in Colchester as well as our main West Suffolk Hospital site.
“This increased activity will ensure our orthopaedic elective patients receive the care they need more quickly, so they can get back to their lives much sooner.”
The new centre should lead to a reduction in the number of cancellations as scheduled operations are at less risk of postponement, due to competing operational demands.
Orthopaedic trauma and paediatric surgery will still be carried out at West Suffolk Hospital.
Pre and post-operative care, including pre-operative assessments, will continue to be provided at the hospital in Bury St Edmunds, and in pre-existing peripheral clinics.
About 1,500, approximately 55 per cent, of West Suffolk’s planned orthopaedic operations - hip, knee, foot and ankle - will be carried out each year at the new centre, which is one of the largest centres of its kind in Europe.
The Dame Clare Marx Building has eight theatres, three wards and 72 inpatient beds.
It has been named in honour of Dame Clare Marx, a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Ipswich Hospital, who died in 2022.