Views sought on sending patients to another county

The Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre is set to open in Colchester later this year

Plans to offer patients orthopaedic procedures in a neighbouring county would have "several benefits", a clinical director said.

West Suffolk patients are being asked to share views on plans for treatment to be delivered from a purpose-built facility over the border in Colchester, Essex.

The new centre, called the Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre (ESEOC), could see numerous benefits, including freeing up operating space at West Suffolk Hospital, according to clinical director Andrew Dunn.

"More capacity would be created, which would allow more patients to receive their treatment with a shorter wait time," he said.

The plans could free an operating room at West Suffolk Hospital

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

According to the plans, this centre would be "ring-fenced" to prevent operations being cancelled when hospitals face "intense emergency pressures".

West Suffolk NHS Foundation and the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board said the centre would be able to treat patients needing hip, knee, shoulder or ankle surgery.

Philip Vaughan, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, said there was a "significant increase in waiting times for local patients", leaving many in pain while they waited.

"If approved, this new hub will provide extra capacity to enable us to address this and treat our patients more efficiently," he added.

A six-week engagement exercise for views to be shared will run from 20 May to 30 June.

The NHS in Suffolk is also holding several small public exhibitions across West Suffolk in June.

They will allow patients to learn more about the proposal and speak to clinicians.