North Midlands Hand Centre welcomes its first patients at County Hospital

Patients requiring hand surgery will have a shorter wait for their procedures thanks to the opening of a dedicated day-case facility at County Hospital.

The North Midlands Hand Centre aims to provide state-of-the-art treatment whilst reducing the waiting list for hand surgery at UHNM.

Up to eight operations will take place each day at the purpose-built centre on a range of conditions including carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, ORIF of wrist, trapeziectomy and ganglions.

Sister Sarah Barber said: “The facilities here are first-class and patients can expect a warm welcome from our passionate and skilled staff.

“This really is the future of hand surgery at UHNM, with many procedures carried out endoscopically, which results in us being able to treat patients as a day case with less pain and a quicker recovery time. The fact this is a stand-alone centre also means we no longer have to find beds for our hand patients to recover in in other parts of the hospital, freeing up spaces for other cases.”

Kathryn Carpenter, 79, from Bignall End was the very first patient to walk through the door at the new North Midlands Hand Centre, having suffered from carpal tunnel for a number of years.

Prior to the Centre opening she would have faced a longer wait for treatment at the Royal Stoke University Hospital and was discharged just two hours after arriving for her procedure.

Kathryn said: “My carpal tunnel was causing me to have trouble sleeping at night thanks to the ongoing pins and needles. I’ve been very impressed with these new facilities, and it was very interesting to have the operation done under a local anaesthetic. I wanted to see more of what was going on!”

As well as a state-of-the-art operating theatre, the Centre also features modern and comfortable changing facilities and a well-equipped recovery room.

Tracy Bullock, Chief Executive at UHNM said: “I was really delighted to be there on the opening day of the North Midlands Hand Centre and to meet our first patient as she was leaving after her treatment. It’s great news that we’ve got a purpose-built facility that runs smoothly and efficiently, keeping our waiting times down.”