A new NHS facility will provide "one-stop clinics" for knee and hip replacement and skin cancer patients in Morpeth.
The Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust has expanded the existing Morpeth NHS centre and will now offer clinics for patients waiting for orthopaedic and plastics procedures from a new "bespoke space" on the previously empty third floor. The trust said the new facilities will "operate in conjunction" with those downstairs, where there is also a procedures room.
Nursing staff selected the name Morpeth View for the premises, based on the views from the third-floor across the Northumberland town. The idea behind the new premises is that some of the 3,200 hip and knee replacements patients looked after by the trust each year will attend for a "one-stop" clinic, rather than having to make separate trips to hospital for each of pre-assessment, physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
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The new clinic will allow patients to receive a full work-up ahead of theatre during the same appointment, which health bosses hope will minimise treatment delays.
Scott Muller, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Northumbria Healthcare, said: "We know that waiting times are a key part of the high-quality care that we always strive to deliver. By having this new one-stop facility for patients having joint replacements, we will be able to reduce the number of times they have to come in, meaning there is far less chance of their operations being delayed.
"In addition, the new facility is a modern and comfortable environment, which will hopefully mean an all-round improved experience for patients who come to us."
There will also be a plastics clinic running from the centre which will streamline the process for skin cancer patients - who will now have a clinical consultation and a biopsy or procedure in just one visit. The hope is that the new centre will help reduce waiting times, while also free up space at Hexham, North Tyneside and Wansbeck hospitals.
Mr Muller added: "The development of this facility in Morpeth also underlines our commitment to providing as much care as possible in communities across the wide area we cover. It will also help to reduce our environmental impact through patients having to travel to hospital fewer times and being seen closer to home."
The work was carried out by P+HS Architects and Tolent. Clinics like this are backed by the National Institute for Health Care and Excellence (NICE) and the British Association of Plastic Surgery - they also form part of the Department of Health and Social Care plan to modernise health services.
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