Castle Hill Hospital's new surgery unit aims to reduce wait times

The new facility at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham includes 10 operating theatres

A new £10m day surgery unit, which hospital bosses say will reduce waiting times, has opened in East Yorkshire.

The facility at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham includes 10 operating theatres for procedures ranging from facial operations to neurosurgery.

Consultants said they hoped to carry out at least 80 operations a day.

Dave Wright, a consultant anaesthetist at Hull University Teaching Hospitals Trust (HUTH), said the facility was "more than doubling existing capacity".

"I think it's really exciting for Hull to be at the forefront of building a large centre," he said.

"Day surgeries that are on this scale are really quite uncommon, so it would be excellent for us to be able to provide that service to our local patients.

"I think when it's fully up to speed, it'll have a significant impact on [tackling] the surgical backlog."

The unit will offer to carry out small operations such as ear, nose and throat procedures as well as more complex treatment including spinal surgery, joint replacements and laser surgery.

Acute and emergency surgery will still be carried out in the main hospital theatres at Castle Hill and Hull Royal Infirmary.

Consultant anaesthetist Dave Wright said he hoped the new facility would cut patient waiting times for surgical appointments

Jill Pawson, a nurse at the newly opened day surgery centre, said: "Hopefully it will reduce waiting list times, which are an issue at the moment with the post-Covid recovery.

"Waiting lists have gone up considerably, so to be able to have this additional day surgery capacity is very, very beneficial for the patients."

Mike Shepherdson, 60, from North Frodingham, near Driffield, is one of the first patients to have surgery at the new unit.

He suffered life-changing injuries following a motorbike crash in August 2021. Since then he has undergone a catalogue of operations and is due to have his final procedure in three weeks' time.

"I love it. It's absolutely fantastic. What a difference - I'm really impressed," he said.

"I was surprised to see how quickly it [surgery appointment] came through.

"I've only been waiting a few weeks, certainly not months."

Mike Shepherdson is one of the first patients to have surgery at the new centre