About 200 patients treated at new Addenbrooke's hip and knee hub

Carol Owen, 78, is now pain-free after having a hip replacement at the unit

A specialist surgery unit for hip and knee replacements has treated more than 200 patients in the weeks since it opened.

The hub, at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, is designed to cut waiting lists for routine orthopaedic operations.

Patients also have access to all the therapies they need, under one roof.

Carol Owen, 78, said it was "a wonderful idea" and she was now pain-free after her hip surgery.

Turning to the right had got "excruciatingly painful" during the year she waited for her surgery, Ms Owen, from Sandy, Bedfordshire, said.

Matron Laura McKay says the new unit, which has single bays and is light-filled, has received positive feedback from patients

The 40-bed Cambridge Movement Surgical Hub is a self-contained Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust unit built on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

Its matron Laura McKay said: "As it's a protected hub, it's away from the main site which means the patients know they're going to get their surgery and it won't be cancelled due to winter pressures."

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Previously, the hospital had to stop routine orthopaedic operations for about four months in the winter due to pressures on the emergency department, the trust said.

Ms McKay said clustering these procedures in one unit meant it could "really home down on" patients' needs, post-surgery.

"We can get the patients supported with physio, occupational therapy, all their therapy needs, before they can go home and we can hopefully discharge them within two days," she added.

Nicola Ayton said more than 200 patients had been treated in the weeks since the unit opened

Nicola Ayton, the trust's chief operating officer, said: "For the first time in many years, we can keep offering routine hip/knee surgery all through the winter and for many winters to come.

"We know these types of operations make a huge difference to the lives of our patients."

Ms Owen, a keen walker, said it had been "easy to recover after the op".

She was now looking forward to "being much more independent, enjoying a bit more cooking - but more than ever, going out for walks. It'll be lovely to get out there", she said.