£17m to tackle hospital delays
Two new theatres
A £17 million investment in additional theatre capacity and a new MRI scanner have been introduced in a bid to reduce waiting times at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.
Two new operating theatres will be opened in the next year to focus on general and orthopaedic surgery.
This will enable around 1500 extra joint replacement operations to be carried out each year.
The new MRI scanner, the second to be purchased for the hospital, will deliver around 8000 additional scans each year.
The extra Scottish Government funding includes £7 million for capital costs and a recurring £10 million for staffing and supplies.
Recruitment is already under way for weekend surgery sessions, which are due to begin in the next few months. The additional theatres and MRI scanner will be commissioned during 2019.
Extra operating lists will run in the hospital’s existing 14 theatres, including extended sessions over weekends, enabling hundreds of extra operations to be performed.
A new 32-bed ward will also be established for patients who need inpatient care following surgery.
NHS Forth Valley will also enter into a partnership with the Golden Jubilee National Hospital to improve the training and recruitment of clinical staff across both sites.
Health secretary Jeane Freeman visited Forth Valley Royal Hospital on Monday.
She said: “This is a significant investment in the facilities at FVRH and one that will bring substantial benefit for years to come.
“The extra capacity and new MRI scanner will reduce waiting times for both procedures and diagnostic tests, meaning better outcomes for patients.
“While investment is important, it’s also vital that we improve the way the health and social care system operates. The partnership between NHS Forth Valley and the Golden Jubilee is a good example of the kind of innovative collaboration we want to see.”
NHS Forth Valley chief executive Cathie Cowan said: “We know that waiting for a scan or operation can be very stressful and this substantial investment will help us to increase capacity and reduce delays for local patients.
“It also provides an opportunity to develop a unique new partnership with the Golden Jubilee.
“This could include the joint recruitment and training of doctors and nurses who could work across both sites to develop and maintain their skills.
“It could also, over time, support greater regional working by providing additional capacity to offer treatment to some patients from other health board areas.”
In June the Observer reported that operations were to be timetabled at weekends in an attempt to clear a backlog.
The move was one of a number of steps introduced by health chiefs after figures showed waiting times for inpatient and day case appointments were the worst in the country.
Between January-March only 56.1 per cent of NHS Forth Valley patients in that category were seen within the 12-week target time, compared with 75.9 per cent across Scotland.
Orthopaedic, general and vascular surgery were said to have been experiencing particular high demand.