The start of a new surgical hub in St Austell

A groundbreaking ceremony has been held, marking the start of work on a new state-of-the-art elective surgical hub in Cornwall.
The £15 million modular build will be located in the grounds of St Austell Community Hospital. Once in place, it is set to deliver around 5,000 day surgery procedures a year.
The hub will have two theatres, four recovery bays and six pre-op assessment rooms, as well as a reception and waiting areas.

Chief Executive of Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Steve Williamson, explains how the hub will benefit patients and the NHS:

“It is really important to local people that depending on the surgical procedure they need to have, some of them will be able to receive that procedure here. If you are a resident of mid, north or east Cornwall, you may be able to receive your care here in St Austell rather than travelling to the Royal Cornwall Hospital or Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. It is fantastic, as we know that travel is one of the factors that can add to the stress of having surgery, having care close to home is really important.
“Having two extra operating theatres increases our overall capacity. That is really important as we look to reduce the waiting times for surgeries. That is happening right across the NHS, so we are absolutely thrilled that we are starting work on a new elective operating centre here at St Austell.”