A NEW £34 million orthopaedic surgery centre which will help bring down waiting times for operations across north Essex will be built at Colchester Hospital.

The East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust’s proposals to create the new centre, which will serve patients from both areas, were unanimously approved by the planning committee on Thursday.

A number of buildings at the hospital site will be demolished and replaced by a three-storey building with a roof top plant.

The centre is set to comprise 72 inpatient beds and six operating theatres and could treat 13 patients a day.

A loop road will be built outside to create ambulance bays, a patient drop off area and a pedestrian walkway will also be added.

Chief executive of the trust Nick Hulme said “extensive consultation” had taken place on the plans with residents of both north Essex and Suffolk and the new centre would help bring down waiting times for operations in both areas.

Gazette: Nick Hulme, chief executive of the East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation TrustNick Hulme, chief executive of the East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust

“For some years we have been thinking about how we can improve the quality of care and reduce waiting times for people with orthopaedic conditions and one thing we do know is by protecting the elective or planned pathway away from the emergency pathway we can significantly reduce waiting times and improve quality of care to the people we serve,” Mr Hulme said.

“Even before Covid we had waiting times which were starting to creep towards six months, eight months, and we are now looking at orthopaedic waiting times nationally of two years.

“Everything we can do to reduce those waiting times I believe we have to do.

“What you’ve heard this evening is a fantastic opportunity for local people a way to deliver high quality safe care to more people with some of our excellent clinicians.

“To be a beacon of high quality care which will attract local people to work here and attract patients to get high quality care in one of our facilities.”

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Mr Hulme said the facility would also be “protected” and help emergency and cancer surgery continue in the case of future pandemics.

Committee member Helen Chuah (Lib Dem, St John’s and St Anne’s) said: “This is a great opportunity for us to provide high quality care with excellent staff.

“This is a much-needed facility which will serve Colchester and residents further afield.”

The total cost of the new centre and the moving of the current day facilities is believe to be about £44million.