HOSPITALS will open 50 additional surgical hubs to hurry up Covid backlog progress.
Ministers have pledged to open 100 new working theatres at 50 centres able to one million extra operations per 12 months by 2024.
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Greater than 6.7million individuals in England are ready for routine surgical procedure, up from 4.4m earlier than the pandemic, with the NHS wait checklist rising each month.
Well being chiefs hope quick-fire hubs for easy ops will hold sufferers out of hospital beds and bust the backlog quicker.
Ninety-one hubs have already opened and ministers have plans for 140 in whole, with 20 new or repurposed areas already confirmed.
Well being Secretary Steve Barclay mentioned: “In an effort to bust the Covid backlogs and hold tempo with future demand, we will’t merely have enterprise as traditional.
“Surgical hubs are a tangible instance of how we’re increasing capability to fill surgical gaps proper throughout the nation.
“These new hubs will ship extra operations over the following three years, together with over 200,000 this 12 months alone.”
The centres will do batches of comparable operations to hurry up affected person turnover, specializing in eye surgical procedure, bone and joint ops, gynaecology and urology, and ear, nostril and throat.
Sufferers might be extra more likely to get dwelling on the identical day and get well quicker, bosses hope.
NHS CEO Amanda Pritchard mentioned: “The NHS has made important progress already, nearly eliminating two 12 months waits for care by the tip of July.
“These new websites might be a great addition in serving to us to additional sort out the Covid-19 backlogs.”
