A NEW hospital operating theatre will benefit patients across Worcestershire by reducing the number of operations cancelled due to emergency pressures.

The Mayor of Redditch, Cllr Pat Witherspoon, visited the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch this week to open a new modular operating theatre which is also set to help patients in Worcester and elsewhere in Worcestershire, cutting waiting times between referral and treatment.

She was met by members of staff from the theatre and surgery divisions who showed her around the new facility which includes an anaesthetic room, operating theatre and two-bed first stage recovery area.

The modular theatre – which will treat its first patients on Monday (May 13) - will be used for a variety of procedures, including hernia repairs, gall bladder operations, women’s surgery and breast surgery.

Nearly 200 members of staff also took the opportunity to visit the new theatre at the Alexandra Hospital as part of the open day.

Dr Julian Berlet, consultant anaesthetist and divisional medical director for theatres at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “It was a pleasure to show off the new facility to both the Mayor and our own staff.

"Everyone understood the positive impact that this will have on patients from across the county, as well as the benefits for the trust in terms of efficiency savings and our 18 week referral to treatment target. It’s a really good news story for the Alex.

“This is the first phase of our development of the operating theatres at the Alexandra Hospital. I sincerely hope this project is a success and will then lead to further expansion and refurbishment of our main theatre suite on the Alex site.”

The theatre will have the capacity to carry out up to an extra 50 procedures a week, meaning that county patients have less risk of their operations being cancelled due to other factors such as emergency pressures.

It will be leased for an initial 12-month period and is attached to the main hospital building by a specially constructed access corridor.