Publish date: 6 December 2022
New Northumberland facility to boost outpatient offer and reduce waiting times
A new outpatient hub has been opened for Northumberland patients as part of ongoing efforts to reduce waiting times and improve patient experience.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has taken over the previously empty top floor of Morpeth NHS Centre to expand its provision from the site where it currently operates outpatient clinics and other services on the ground floor.
It has been transformed into a bespoke space, initially for one-stop clinics for orthopaedics and plastics, which will operate in conjunction with the facilities downstairs that include a procedure room.
Offering a modern outpatient environment, it will be known as Morpeth View, with the name selected by the outpatient nursing teams, due to the facility’s third-storey views across the town.
Northumbria Healthcare’s orthopaedic team currently carries out 3,200 hip and knee replacements (arthroplasty) each year. Prior to having surgery, patients require a full work-up, which includes pre-assessment, physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
Currently, patients have to carry out separate trips to hospital for each of these elements, which can lead to longer waits if patients cannot make a particular appointment.
Morpeth View has been built to a modern, flexible and purposeful design to help support the trust’s goal of developing innovative ways of delivering multi-disciplinary outpatient services.
The arthroplasty clinic will allow patients to receive a full work-up for theatre during the same appointment, which will help to minimise delays to treatment and provide a better all-round experience for patients.
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.”
Meanwhile, the plastics clinic will result in a more streamlined process for skin cancer patients, who will have a clinical consultation and a biopsy or procedure within just one visit, again improving patient experience and reducing waiting times. Plus, this work taking place at Morpeth will free up outpatient and operating theatre space each week at the trust’s three general hospitals.
“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,” added Mr Muller. “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 trust is grateful for the support of P+HS Architects and Tolent on this project.
Arthroplasty and plastics one-stop clinics are advocated by the National Institute for Health Care and Excellence (NICE) and the British Association of Plastic Surgery, while also being highlighted as part of the Department for Health and Social Care’s modernisation strategies.
Media contact
Ben O’Connell, media and communications officer, Northumbria Healthcare
Benjamin.O'Connell@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk or 07833 046680.