Twin Operating Theatres at Torbay Hospital – Devon, United Kingdom

ModuleCo are pleased to have provided a three-storey twin modular operating theatre facility at Torbay Hospital, in partnership with Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust. The facility is the second of a two-phase project that has also seen a modular endoscopy facility delivered at the same hospital.

The new modular healthcare building features two state-of-the-art operating theatre suites on the first floor alongside pre-operative assessment space and a first stage recovery area that allows for patient segregation. The new surgical facilities will enable the Trust to carry out procedures for 4,500 more people every year.

Use of the new operating theatres will be mixed as each is designed for different surgical specialisms. One theatre features an ultra-clean ventilation laminar flow canopy to provide breast and orthopaedic surgery, the latter mainly focusing on day-case surgery of hip, knees and shoulders, whilst the other features a ceiling-mounted microscope that will be used by the eye surgery department.

The ground floor of the modular facility provides a new entrance to the Hospital’s Heart and Lung Centre with a large welcome area, office space for staff and an open-plan waiting area for patients. This level also contains multiple consultation and clinical examination rooms, as well as staff welfare facilities and storage space. The consultation and examination rooms have been designed to be a standard size and provide the Trust with the flexibility to utilise these rooms as best suits their future requirements.

Dr Theresa Hinde, Clinical Director of Day Surgery and Consultant Anaesthetist at the Trust, said: “We are so proud of our local, national and even international reputation for excellence in day surgery that has grown over the past 30 years. Around 85% of surgery at Torbay Hospital is undertaken as a day case which we know has tremendous benefits for the people we care for, and we currently support around 12,000 people a year through the unit.

“I am excited to see the benefits of these new facilities for both the experience of our patients and the staff who work in them. The number of people we support will increase over time once the theatres become fully operational, which will help reduce waiting lists but more importantly help us treat local people sooner.”

Jacqueline Coles, Head of Elective Care for NHS England South West, commented: “I am delighted to see the two brand new theatres at Torbay District Hospital open today. The additional theatres mean more people, who require less complex surgery, will be seen and treated sooner than ever before. The theatres will also help to reduce the backlog of those patients with less urgent need as we continue to work together to improve people’s treatment, care and outcomes.”

The completion of this two-phase project is a key milestone in Torbay and South Devon’s Building a Brighter Future programme to improve their community’s experiences and outcomes of care.