The first phase of a new elective surgical hub built by MTX using fast-track modern Methods of Construction (MMC) has opened at the Clatterbridge Hospital on the Wirral.
The Cheshire and Merseyside Surgical Centre is one of the new generation of operating theatres developed solely to treat patients awaiting elective or planned surgery and help clear the patient backlog exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19. The first phase of the Surgical Centre includes two operating theatres, 12 patient recovery bays and a plant equipment room containing air handling units and electrical supply panels.
Pre-manufactured steel-framed building sections were craned onto the site alongside existing theatres at Clatterbridge Hospital and assembled by the skilled team from MTX, installing exterior cladding, interior finishes and floor screeds. They then fitted out the theatre complex including equipping the operating theatres, and installed all mechanical, electrical and plumbing elements, commissioning a plant equipment room containing air handling units and electrical supply panels. MMC can reduce build times by more than 50%, cut waste by up to 60%, and enable faster, more cost effective and low carbon delivery of high quality buildings that are fully compliant with latest healthcare standards.
The Cheshire and Merseyside Surgical Centre is one of the first projects financed under the NHS England £700 million national funding made available through the Targeted Investment Fund, to support schemes that promote recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. It has created a ‘cold site’ capacity, with the new theatres located away from the main busy acute hospital at Arrowe Park to provide enhanced infection prevention and control, separated from patients who require treatment for viruses such as COVID-19 or flu.
The new theatre strategy is designed to reduce same-day cancellations of surgery which often result from pressure on bed capacity, avoiding wasting valuable operating time.
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was allocated £10.6 million of funding early in 2022, from NHS England, via Cheshire and Merseyside’s Integrated Care System (ICS), to build the two new operating theatres. In September further funding of £14.95 million was announced to build two further theatres as part of phase two of the project which will also be delivered by MTX.
