Joint surgery restarts at hospital after a year

Patient Gloria Malpass-Leek was the first to have a hip replacement operation

Orthopaedic surgery has resumed at Telford's Princess Royal Hospital a year after it was halted because of problems with the building.

Planned surgery has restarted in phases with hip replacement operations first followed by knee replacement surgery, the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) said.

New surgical and anaesthetic techniques are enabling patients to walk within hours of surgery and return home sooner, with some being discharged one the same day.

Elective surgery for joint replacements was stopped last December due to "estates issues" on the recovery ward, the trust said.

Patients have complained over delays for surgery, including 80-year-old Sue Smith who said in June she had been waiting more than six months for a hip operation.

The trust apologised and said it hoped to resume orthopaedic surgery in the summer.

The first patient to have surgery on the ward was Gloria Malpass-Leek who had a hip replacement operation and was walking on the same day, the trust said.

Ned Hobbs, chief operating officer at SaTH, said it was wonderful news for patients.

"I would like to thank our patients for their support and understanding during this time and to the many teams across the trust who have worked so tirelessly to get the service back up and running.

"An extensive amount of work has had to take place with a complex set of ward moves to provide a suitable environment for patients having elective orthopaedic procedures to recover following surgery."