OVER 50 new surgical units will open across England to help address COVID-19 backlogs, the Government has announced.The ‘hubs’ will provide at least 100 more operating theatres and over 1,000 beds so people get the surgery they need. And they will deliver almost two million extra routine operations to reduce waiting lists over the next three years, backed by £1.5billion in government funding.

They will focus mainly on providing high-volume, low-complexity surgery, as previously recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, with particular emphasis on ophthalmology, general surgery, trauma andorthopaedics, gynaecology, ear nose and throat, and urology. Located on existing hospital sites, the surgical hubs will bring together the skills and expertise of staff under one roof – reducing waiting times for some of the most-common procedures such as cataract surgeries and hip replacements.

Announcing the investment, former Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said: “In order to bust the COVID-19 backlogs and keep pace with future demands, we can’t simply have business as usual.“Surgical hubs are a really tangible example of how we are already innovating and expanding capacity to fill surgical gaps right across the country, to boost the number of operations and reduce waiting times for vital procedures.”NHS chief executive, Amanda Pritchard, added: “Surgical hubs are a vital part of plans to recover elective services across England and these new sites will be a welcome boost in helping us to further tackle the COVID-19 backlogs that have inevitably built up over the pandemic. ”The Government has worked with the NHS to identify which areas will benefit most from surgical hubs. So far, locations for 20 new, or expanded, hubs have already been confirmed, and bids for the remaining units are set to be considered over the coming weeks. Across the country, 91 surgical hubs are already operational, with plans for 140 by 2025.