Withybush Hospital, Pembrokeshire

The need

Withybush General Hospital, part of Hywel Dda University Health Board, needed a solution to manage patient flow due to the high volume of people requiring cataract surgery. There were more than 1,500 patients who had waited over 36 weeks for the procedure.

The Vanguard plan

Vanguard Healthcare Solutions worked with the team at Withybush to develop a plan to meet this need. It included the installation of a 190m2 mobile healthcare facility which would increase clinical capacity at the hospital.

The Vanguard solution

Vanguard delivered and installed the bespoke mobile theatre and patient ward. It became fully operational within the space of a few days. The Healthcare Space at Withybush Hospital provided a modern clinical environment suitable for specialist ophthalmology procedures. The laminar flow specification offered HEPA-filtered environmental air conforming to Grade A EUGMP. This system ensure that up to 600 air changes per hour pass over the patient. The innovative design of Vanguard facilities allows the theatres to integrate with mobile wards to create a day surgery facility.

The outcome

The increased capacity allowed the number of those waiting for the procedure to be reduced to 350. This was a reduction of the list by almost 25%. The facility treated 850 patients in the initial contract period. Executives at the hospital decided to extend the facility’s stay for a further month to complete an additional 175 operations.

Gordon Wragg, Operations Manager at Withybush General Hospital, told us: “We understand how frustrating it can be for patients to be on a long waiting list and it is really important for us as a Board that we do our utmost to see patients promptly and within their local hospital environment. This not only helps with financial stability for the Board, but also peace-of-mind and continuity of care for patients, many of whom in this instance will be aged 60 and over.

“On paper, the benefits of using a temporary mobile Healthcare Space were clear. To our delight the programme delivered beyond our expectations. We view this project as an incredible success, with the results demonstrating that mobile healthcare can have a significant impact on patient flow and positive health outcomes. Feedback from patients has been very positive, with post-operative checks confirming that all patients that have undergone surgery during this period have seen an improvement in sight.”