Theatres

In October 2022, it was announced that our theatres at Torbay Hospital are set to benefit from around £15million capital investment which will increase capacity and help reduce local waiting lists.

This funding will enable us to create two modular theatres as well as additional preoperative assessment spaces and recovery spaces. This means we will be able to care for 4,500 more people each year, reducing the time that people have to wait for day surgery and improving their experience and outcomes.

The benefits of day surgery for patients are highly significant, using the highest quality anaesthetic and surgical techniques, and enabling people to return to their own home on the same day. Day surgery has a lower risk of complications and faster recovery which are also hugely beneficial to our patients.

Our day surgery unit is recognised nationally for their best practice developed over 30 years, and sees and treats around 12,000 day cases each year. As surgical and anaesthetic techniques develop, we are able to offer day case surgery across all surgical specialities. Day case operations include orthopaedic surgery such as hip, knee and shoulder replacements as well cataract and other eye operations. A majority of gynaecological, urology ear, nose and throat (ENT) and general surgical procedures also take place as day case. Some emergency and trauma operations are also possible as day case procedures. Overall 80% of surgery performed at Torbay is on a day case basis.

Medical Director, Ian Currie, said: “We are delighted to have secured this funding to improve and expand our theatres. We absolutely understand that waiting for planned hospital surgery or treatment can be a difficult and worrying time, and we have been working hard, with all our colleagues across Devon, to bring waiting times down and to see people as soon as we can.

“This expansion of our theatre capacity will enable us to reduce our waiting lists and see more people while we progress our plans for our hospital redevelopment under our Building a brighter future programme.”

Building is scheduled to begin on site in early 2023 and is expected to take eleven months.