£15m orthopaedic surgery centre to welcome its first patients
The new Mexborough Elective Orthopaedic Centre of Excellence (MEOC) will admit its first patients today – 15 January.
Despite challenges over the Christmas and New Year period, the NHS has confirmed that the facility’s first surgical operations are set to begin.
The MEOC is part of a national initiative to cut waiting lists, and will be one of two orthopaedic surgical hubs sponsored by the South Yorkshire Integrated Care System (ICS).
It was delivered following investment of just under £15m, with construction beginning in July and completed in December 2023.
The service will operate 50 weeks a year, starting as a five day a week service, increasing to six days once running to full capacity, expected by mid-2024.
Richard Parker, chief executive at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (DBTH), said: “The MEOC will make a huge difference for those patients who require orthopaedic surgery.
“The service will help to not only reduce waiting lists for orthopaedic treatment in the locality, but also reduce health inequalities, as the South Yorkshire area it serves sits within one of the most deprived areas in the country.”
The centre, which is a collaboration between three hospital trusts, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (BH), and The Rotherham Foundation Trust (TRFT), will focus exclusively on procedures such as hand and wrist surgeries, foot and ankle treatments, arm and shoulder procedures, carpals, and knee and hip replacement.
