World class patient care continues during £10.5m refurbishment project

Two state-of-the-art mobile operating theatres helped the Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital to solve a surgery challenge – and make history at the same time.

The two mobile facilities - each weighing 28 tonnes – were driven into position at the hospital in Leamington Spa to provide additional theatre capacity while the hospital undertook a £10.5 million build and refurbishment programme, which included a complete upgrade of its existing operating theatres.

It was the first time in the UK that two mobile theatres were deployed together, enabling the hospital to continue to provide high-quality surgical services for its patients while the refurbishment work was carried out.

Edward Goldsmith, General Manager of Nuffield Health Warwickshire Hospital said: “Quite simply, we could not have carried out this huge investment in local healthcare facilities without calling in these two mobile theatres.”

“We prepared a special walkway to the two mobile theatres which allowed patients to be transferred to them exactly as if they were going into one of our regular theatres.”

“When the two theatres arrived they then opened out to provide a large clinical area complete with anaesthesia, operating rooms and recovery area. It is hugely impressive and I am pleased to say that our patients had their surgical procedures on time as planned.”

All Vanguard mobile healthcare facilities can be installed on-site with minimal disruption. Working closely with the estates team, our logistics team will assist to project-manage the mobile unit from conception to clinical delivery. The experienced team includes biomechanical engineers to maintain a compliant facility, a transport manager to provide advice on delivery, access and installation and a dedicated transport crew who deliver the units at the customer’s convenience.

By using Vanguard’s highly sophisticated turn-key mobile solutions, healthcare providers can benefit from uninterrupted services enabling continuity of care with patients still able to have their procedures on time during planned refurbishment work and minimal disruption.

Additional mobile theatre carries out obstetrics procedures at world renowned St John and St Elizabeth’s Hospital in London

Obstetrics, gynaecology, cosmetic surgery and orthopaedics were just some of the types of procedures carried out in the mobile laminar flow operating theatre when it was located at the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in London – one of the UK’s most prestigious private healthcare establishments.

The world-renowned hospital contracted Vanguard Healthcare to provide a mobile operating theatre to complement its four existing permanent facilities.

The hospital wanted to test the foundations of a business development strategy which would eventually lead to investment in a fifth permanent operating theatre.

Christine Malcolmson, Matron of the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, said: “There is always the worry with developing the business that it becomes irrelevant or obsolete – new legislation, changing patient trends, new techniques and, of course, the recession can all have a big impact on the private healthcare business.”

“By bringing in Vanguard’s mobile unit we have been able to test the water, assess the demand for a permanent facility and make sure that this type of operating theatre was right for our body of consultants.”

As well as providing the hospital with a base on which to build a solid case for business development, the laminar flow theatre has become a popular addition to the hospital’s operating theatre facilities for consultants and patients alike.

“The unit has a lovely recovery area and, as it is off-set from the main building, it is quiet and private – we have received a lot of positive feedback from our patients,” explained Christine. “Patients undergoing procedures such as breast surgery or gynaecology work in particular find the quiet, private atmosphere very agreeable and surgeons feel comfortable spending long periods of time operating in the unit.”

BMI Healthcare uses Vanguard mobile operating theatre to establish a new business case

A five year contract with Vanguard Healthcare has helped BMI put together a series of business development cases for future capital investment. The contract which started in January 2006 saw a laminar flow operating theatre located at BMI Princess Margaret Hospital in Windsor. The mobile operating theatre was then moved to BMI Runnymede in October 2008.

The mobile unit, measuring 8 x 15 metres, enabled BMI Runnymede to provide additional operating sessions to add to the capacity of the hospital’s existing facilities, which comprised of two main operating theatres and one small endoscopy unit. By exploring the flexibility and increased capacity provided by the Vanguard unit, hospital bosses were able to work up a business development case for building an additional permanent facility.

Sue Johnson, Executive Director at BMI Runnymede, said: “Laminar flow theatres are crucial for procedures with high infection risks such as orthopaedic operations. Having the Vanguard unit has enabled us to manage these operations much more easily and significantly cut down on patient waiting times.”

The laminar flow theatre is connected to the hospital by a short wooden corridor that, from an internal perspective, completely integrates the unit to the main building. During peak times throughout the week, the unit is used as an overflow theatre for patients that would otherwise remain untreated until the waiting list for the permanent facilities had been cleared.

“Without the facility we would have been stuck – we would have had to continue to struggle on with our existing facilities,” continued Mrs Johnson. “To secure funding for a new facility I have to be able to prove a tangible need for expansion and that would have been next to impossible without a mobile facility. It gave us the chance to see what extra work we could potentially take on board if we had that extra facility.”