CONSTRUCTION work is now underway at Wharfedale Hospital to create a new £10m Elective Care Hub which includes two new operating theatres, a recovery area, admissions and discharge area.
The investment from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is within the existing building footprint of the hospital in Otley and is aimed at reducing waiting times and protecting space for planned operations to take place. It is expected to open in October 2024.
The Elective Care Hub will provide space for operations including minor cancers, urology and benign gynaecology. These are operations where a post-operative stay is required, hence the move to overnight stays seven days a week. As part of the development there will be some other changes at Wharfedale Hospital with the day unit and phlebotomy services moving into refurbished areas and a dedicated a hysteroscopy treatment suite. Overall, the clinical footprint of the site will increase.
Having a dedicated Elective Care Hub away from the major hospital sites in Leeds means there is capacity which can confidently be used all-year-round.
Craige Richardson, Director of Estates and Facilities at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, said: “We are so pleased that work is now underway on our Elective Care Hub. This development demonstrates our vision of maintaining Wharfedale Hospital as an important and integral part of our Trust and how we deliver patient care.
“There will be an increase in elective theatre activity from two theatres to four and we expect some key benefits including an additional 3,500 cases of care per year, and faster treatment times leading to improved patient experience. We also know that patients really like being cared for at Wharfedale in a more relaxed and semi-rural location.”
Helen Harrison, Sister at Wharfedale Hospital said: “Wharfedale Hospital is somewhere we know patients like to receive care and where staff like to work, so the news that work is underway is brilliant news. We’re looking forward to seeing work progressing and having a facility to improve timeliness and quality of care for our patients.
“We’ll also have plans and artist’s impressions of what the new facility will look like on display in the hospital, for anyone passing by to come and have a look.”
In the short term, a temporary theatre has been in place to provide support across a range of specialities - urology, plastics, maxillofacial, colorectal, breast and vascular. It has been a vital element of care provision over the past year or so.
Investment has also recently been made with the installation of a cutting-edge solar photovoltaic canopy over the car park of its Wharfedale Hospital site. This £1.1 million project provides sustainable solar power to the hospital, reducing its reliance on conventional energy sources and, in turn, lowering the Trust's carbon footprint.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here