A mobile theatre complex will remain on site at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth following its success in helping to reduce the COVID-19 backlog.
The mixed-modality unit from Vanguard Healthcare Solutions was installed in August 2021 as part of University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust’s response to the waiting list crisis.
And it will now remain at the hospital for a further three months to continue providing life-changing ophthalmology treatment to patients.
The facility consists of two mobile operating theatres and a connecting modular support hub, designed in collaboration with the hospital’s clinical teams.
Operational five days a week, it provides a range of eye care procedures, including cataracts, ectropion, dacryocystorhinostomy, and blepharoplasty treatments.
Dr Tomas Cudrnak, clinical director for ophthalmology at the trust, added: “We were experiencing an issue with theatre capacity across the whole hospital, which meant the number of sessions we were able to deliver within our previous location each week dropped from 20 to 14.
“This new facility has been a very good step forward in terms of meeting the expectations of our patients as we dedicate one theatre to high-volume cataract surgery and the other to sub-specialty treatments.”
