Salford Royal opts for barn theatre

The limited building space has led the hospital to decide upon installing a two-table barn theatre – a relatively new concept to the UK. This is a single space in which a number of operating tables can function as efficiently next to each other as they would in separate theatres, without dividing walls.

In addition, to the space-saving benefits, this can facilitate the sharing of expertise.

The Trust’s team had seen Howorth Medical’s four-table barn theatre at Broadgreen Hospital and Cardiothoracic Centre, Liverpool, and commissioned the company to provide the full theatre package for the new complex, with full design responsibility. When it is complete, the barn theatre at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust will facilitate a substantial change in the way the hospital is able to handle orthopaedic surgery.