Plans to send patients to another county approved

The new Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre will open at Colchester Hospital later this year

Plans to deliver orthopaedic procedures in a neighbouring county have been approved by a care board.

Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) met to discuss plans to offer West Suffolk patients treatment from a purpose-built facility over the border in Colchester, Essex.

The new centre that is being built, the Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre (ESEOC), will take on 55% of procedures after members unanimously approved the plans.

Board member Nick Hulme and chief executive of East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, explained approving the plans would drastically reduce waiting times.

"For every week the ESEOC is open we take two weeks off the waiting lists," he said.

"There will always be a trade off when we move capacity and when we move delivery of care but I think the trade off in terms of reducing the extraordinary long impact on people's lives is beneficial."

Mr Hulme said however a wider discussion around transport, that other board members highlighted, would be needed to ensure patients could access the centre easily.

"A wider discussion about access and transport is probably something that as a board we need to address at some point particularly as it is likely there will be more movement of patients as we become super specialist," he continued.

"It's always got to be a real important part."

West Suffolk patients will be offered surgery from Colchester once the new centre opens

The ESEOC is due to open later this year and will be based in the Dame Clare Marx Building on the Colchester Hospital site.

It will help patients needing hip, knee, shoulder or ankle surgeries.

Luke Bacon, research and business development officer at Healthwatch Suffolk, analysed data from an independent public engagement into the plans.

He told the meeting that 2,218 people responded to the consultation - 37% were patients waiting for orthopaedic surgery from the West Suffolk Foundation Trust and 5% were carers or relatives of those waiting for treatment.

Just under half of all respondents were positive about the proposal while 35% were negative and 17% of people said they did not know.

Those who were waiting for surgery were seen to be more positive than those who were not in need of care.

Mr Bacon said Healthwatch Suffolk thought this was "due to the impact of quality of life on [patients] waiting and wanting to have that surgery done".

The board will meet again in September to discuss updates on the approved plans.