First patient praises new specialist trauma orthopaedic service

Irene Carroll from Heywood with Jackie Greenhalgh, ward manager, at North Manchester General Hospital (ward I5).

A patient from Heywood has praised staff for her ‘excellent’ care at the new specialist orthopaedic unit at North Manchester General Hospital following an operation on her dislocated hip. 

The new specialist centre for emergency trauma and orthopaedic services at North Manchester General Hospital opened last week (17 March 2012) to treat patients with badly broken bones, who need urgent surgery, such as those with proven fracture of the neck of femur, tibia, fibula, wrist injury or complex ankle injuries.

Irene Carroll, 52, was the first patient to be transferred by ambulance from Fairfield General Hospital to the new Orthopaedic Trauma Assessment Unit (TSU) at North Manchester General Hospital after an x-ray was carried out and doctors and physiotherapists suspected she needed an urgent operation.  

Ms Carroll attended the A&E department at Fairfield General Hospital with a dislocated hip and was then transferred and admitted to ward I5 at North Manchester General Hospital for specialist treatment on Saturday 17 March 2012. She was admitted to the ward at approximately 11am and was operated on by specialist orthopaedic surgeons the same afternoon.

She said: “I was in agony when flying back from holiday in Spain after an accident. I did not have any concerns about being transferred from Fairfield Hospital to North Manchester General Hospital and the service I have received from the staff has been excellent at both hospitals. My transfer was smooth and I was made extremely comfortable after being in so much pain and feeling extremely vulnerable.  I am amazed at the speedy recovery I am making. From being totally incapacitated, I am already on my feet again and looking forward to going home tomorrow. The staff here are excellent.”

People who attend Fairfield General Hospital with broken bones will continue to be seen and treated at Fairfield’s Accident and Emergency Department if brought there. If patients need an urgent operation to repair their injury, they will be transferred to the specialist orthopaedic trauma team at North Manchester General Hospital.

Located within ward I5 at North Manchester General Hospital, the specialist orthopaedic unit has 38 beds which are split into seven beds on the Trauma Assessment Unit (TAU), 21 beds in the post operative section and 10 beds in the rehabilitation ward. 

Following the changes at The Pennine Acute Trust, patients who have undergone an x-ray in the A&E department and who need an operation are now be fast tracked up to the unit so that they can be operated on within 24 to 36 hours, as they will be optimised for surgery by the dedicated team consisting of specialist nurses, trauma coordinators, anaesthetists and an ortho-geriatrician.

Previously patients would be admitted onto a general orthopaedic ward and could wait up to two and a half days before they had their operation.  Some Bury patients will be discharged from North Manchester General Hospital but those needing a prolonged stay will be returned to Fairfield General Hospital for further treatment, recovery and rehabilitation. The Trust has opened ten additional beds on the rehabilitation ward at Fairfield General Hospital, with a particular focus on caring for elderly patients

Mr Ronan McGivney, clinical director for trauma orthopaedic services at the Pennine Acute Trust said: “We believe this is the most efficient and effective way to use staff skills, expertise and resources to provide improved and safer services for patients.  By concentrating our expertise and resources we are able to create first class specialist fracture surgery and inpatient orthopaedic surgery services for the people of Bury, Prestwich, Heywood North Manchester and surrounding areas.”

Fairfield General Hospital continues to provide planned (elective) orthopaedic surgery and day case surgery. Outpatient services and fracture clinics continue to be provided on all the Trust’s hospital sites.