A mobile operating theatre has been introduced at the Spire Liverpool Hospital as more patients shun lengthy NHS waiting lists in favour of private treatment.
The hospital, which treats patients from Merseyside and the North West, said it has recently seen an upsurge in demand for procedures, prompting the expansion plan.
The state-of-the-art laminar flow mobile theatre, supplied by Vanguard Healthcare, comes with its own anaesthetic room, recovery area, utility areas and staff changing facilities and is connected to the main hospital via a link corridor. It is being used for a number of procedures including orthopaedic, ophthalmic, urology, gynaecology and general surgery.
Hospital director, Liz Cousins, said: “The mobile operating theatre is providing a seamless service and already the consultant and patient feedback has been extremely positive. We’re delighted to have adopted a strategy that has enabled us to continue to carry out our regular treatments and procedures conveniently on site and ensure that we continue to provide a consistent high quality of patient care with no adverse affect on the patient experience.”
Senior consultant and orthopaedic surgeon, John Davidson, added: “The new theatre that has been installed at Spire has greatly enhanced our ability to deliver specialist surgical services. Having an extra ultra clean air theatre means we can double our capacity for putting in joint replacements and artificial material into patients, minimising the risk of infection.
“This additional theatre, while delivered as a mobile unit, is state-of-the-art and now fully integrated into the hospital’s theatre suite. We are very pleased we have managed to increase our capacity so patients do not have to wait for their surgical procedures.”
