New operating theatre planned for Rochdale Infirmary

Surgeon at Rochdale Infirmary

Rochdale Infirmary will be able to offer day case surgery to more patients from 2024 when a new theatre is planned to open at the hospital.

This will be the hospital’s ninth theatre, offering procedures to patients who arrive at and leave hospital on the same day, with no need for an overnight stay.

When the theatre opens, the hospital will be able to treat more patients for general surgery, vascular surgery, gynaecology, urology, oral and maxillofacial, orthopaedics, plastic surgery, and pain medicine.

Steve Taylor, Chief Officer at Rochdale Care Organisation, part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to offer another theatre at Rochdale Infirmary. Many patients have been incredibly patient, waiting for procedures that maybe had to be postponed or couldn’t go ahead during the COVID-19 pandemic. That isn’t the experience we wanted to offer our patients. We don’t want our patients having to wait long periods of time for their surgery and an extra theatre will undoubtedly help speed up waiting times for day case surgery.”

“The new theatre also represents the biggest infrastructure project at Rochdale Infirmary in the last two decades.”

The new theatre will cost £5million, and along with other recent investments into theatres, will bring around 100 new jobs into Rochdale, including doctors, nurses, operating theatre staff and porters.

Construction work is scheduled to start in January 2023 with the new theatre opening in early 2024.

Rochdale Infirmary currently has eight day case operating theatres, two dedicated to ophthalmology, and the remaining taking a mix of specialities delivering high volume low complexity surgery (HVLC) seven days a week.

HVLC was launched in 2021 to help drive down waiting lists for elective surgery, focusing on a small number of elective specialities with the greatest impact.

Rochdale Infirmary’s theatres also treat patients from Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust at the weekends and patients from the Christie NHS Foundation Trust during the week.