A NEW 'immune from cancellations' operating theatre will cut waiting times across the borough.
Barnsley Hospital will work with other local trusts to create the new facility, which will be based in Mexborough, thanks to almost £15m in NHS funding.
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals (DBTH) is set to receive £14.9m of capital investment funding from NHS England (NHSE) to develop the elective orthopaedic centre at Montagu Hospital.
Working in partnership with Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the Rotherham Hospital Foundation Trust, colleagues at DBTH will lead the programme to implement a new, dedicated orthopaedic hub for the people of South Yorkshire, with health professionals undertaking hip and knee replacement inpatient procedures alongside foot and ankle, hand and wrist, and shoulder day case surgery.
In the first year of operation the centre will undertake more than 2,000 orthopaedic procedures on behalf of the three partner trusts, equating to about 40 per cent of the current orthopaedic waiting list locally.
Bob Kirton, deputy chief executive at Barnsley Hospital, said: “This investment provides an excellent opportunity for the people of South Yorkshire to benefit from easier access to the services and care that they need.
“I am really looking forward to the unit opening later this year."
