New orthopaedic centre opens at Wrightington Hospital
A new orthopaedic centre has opened on the Wrightington Hospital site in Wigan.
The centre, which opened unofficially at the end of December 2015, cost £18.1 million to build and contains two new wards, with a total of 56 beds, a new admissions unit and a four-bay operating theatre complex with a seven-space recovery area.
It is hoped that the changes in layout and facilities will revolutionise work at the centre and patient care, providing a far better environment to receive and give treatment.
Even before it opened, the centre was attracting attention due to the quality of the build and the enhanced patient care that will be delivered through the improved environment. The design of four-bedded bays and single room accommodation will now be used across the NHS for other similar hospital developments.
Wrightington has a long history of innovation and research, built on the legacy created by the innovative hip surgeon Sir John Charnley. As well as pioneering hip replacement surgery in the 1960s, Sir John also designed the clean air operating theatre and a system for handling surgical instruments that reduced infection rates during surgery.
The first operational day at the new orthopaedic centre was highly successful, seeing a total of 13 joint replacements completed, as well as other minor operations being performed. An official opening is to be arranged for later in the year.
Picture caption: Eight of the longest serving members of staff from Wrightington took part in the ribbon cutting ceremony
