Work is underway to build two new state-of-the-art operating theatres at Grantham and District Hospital as part of a multi-million-pound investment in services.
The two modular theatres, along with their associated preparation rooms, utility facilities and a six-bed recovery ward with an ultraclean ventilation system, will create additional theatre capacity for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT) to care for those in need of surgery in Lincolnshire.
Paul Matthew, Director of Finance and Digital at ULHT, said: “This exciting project represents a £5.3m investment in surgery services.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, our Grantham teams have been pivotal in helping to ensure patients have been able to continue to access potentially life-saving procedures and once these new theatres are in place, it will increase our available theatre capacity by 50% on the site.
“This additional capacity, delivered by a dedicated and highly-trained team who can operate seven days a week, will support our efforts to reduce waiting times, with a proportion of this also dedicated to patients who require surgery for the treatment of cancer.”
Currently, Grantham and District Hospital has four theatres available to undertake procedures across a number of specialties for patients from across the county, including orthopaedics, ophthalmology, urology and general surgery.
Initial ground works for the new modular buildings commenced in November 2021 and it is anticipated the two new theatres will be ready for use in summer 2022.
Alan Davidson, Healthcare Director of design and building contractor MMC, Darwin Group, said: “We are thrilled to have broken ground on this new healthcare project for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Providing new facilities through innovative next generation solutions allows us to work closely with the Trust’s clinical team throughout the build to ensure expectations are met.”
This development at Grantham follows a further £3.2m investment for surgery in Lincolnshire during February 2022, through the installation of a new robotic assisted surgery system at Lincoln County Hospital.