A new theatre and day case unit based in the Captain Sir Tom Moore (CSTM) Building at Halton Hospital has officially opened. 

The work is the first phase of a £9.2 million project to re-configure theatres and create additional capacity for the treatment of elective patients and help to reduce waiting lists for surgery. The development is part of a wider project to further improve the elective care facilities, patient access and increase the number of patients treated at Halton Hospital.

The unit has been designed to provide 10 new day case pods, a state-of-the-art laminar flow theatre and a new treatment room for low complexity surgery, supporting new ways of working and innovative methods of delivering care to provide an excellent experience for elective patients. 

A laminar flow theatre uses ventilator systems to change air more than 300 times per hour and create ultraclean ventilation. The continuous flow of highly filtered air is re-circulated under positive pressure to help reduce the number of infective organisms present in the theatre air.

Simon Constable, Chief Executive of Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals, said: “I am delighted to see this new facility open as part of the ongoing work to re-develop and modernise the Halton Hospital site. 

“Elective care recovery from the pandemic is top of the agenda, and this development works towards putting the right infrastructure in place so we can offer patients quicker access to vital procedures. This is fundamental to our aim of creating an efficient elective site that is recognised as a centre of excellence to improve patient outcomes and assist with demand from across the region.” 

The area remained fully operational throughout the works, a testament to the hard work and dedication of staff to ensure no patients missed an appointment or were delayed in receiving treatment. Since the opening, the unit has treated more than 100 patients in addition to the activity already provided by services.  

As a nod to the area, the new theatre features a large scale photograph of the Silver Jubilee Bridge by Phil Burness, a local photographer. Phil kindly donated the image as a way to give back to the Trust. 

Phil said: “As someone who grew up in the area and raised a family here, the Trust has provided fantastic care to myself and my family. I wanted to donate this image to say thank you. It’s brilliant to see the picture in place and I hope it helps reduce anxiety for patients for years to come.”  

The development has been supported by funding from NHS England as part of the Targeted Investment Fund (TIF), set up to support schemes as part of the Covid-19 recovery. The next phase of development will see further improvement work take place to create an additional theatre and complete a full refurbishment and modernisation of an existing ward within the Nightingale Building.  

Additional work at Halton includes the ongoing construction of a £5m dedicated Endoscopy Hub due for completion in Summer 2024 and a £8m purpose-built diagnostics centre scheduled to open in 2025. The Endoscopy Hub will increase capacity and offer new innovative alternatives to endoscopy. The Hub is funded through the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Endoscopy Transformation Programme that aims to create an endoscopy service without borders.