Helping resolve the NHS Backlog - 50 new surgical hubs

The government has just announced the opening of 50 new surgical hubs, backed by £1.5 billion, delivering millions more operations to bust the backlogs in our NHS and ensure everyone gets the care they deserve.

  • The pandemic put unprecedented strain and pressure on our health service and is it right that we bust the backlogs and ensure every patient can access and receive the care they deserve.
  • So it is fantastic news that the government will deliver over 50 new surgical hubs that will provide at least 100 more operating theatres and 1,000 more surgical beds,  providing almost two million extra routine operations over the next three years – reducing waiting times and offering one million patients waiting for surgery access to vital procedures. This is in addition to the 91 surgical hubs already open.
  • These vital beds will be ring fenced for planned operations, reducing the risk of short-notice cancellations, giving patients peace of mind and ensuring they receive the care they deserve.
  • £188 million of the money will be coming here to the North West, where it is expected to provide more than 150,000 operations over the next three years and an additional 70,000 outpatient appointments.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

"In order to bust the Covid 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.

We have already made progress in tackling the longest waiting lists to offer patients quicker access to treatment, and these new surgical hubs will in their own right deliver additional operations over the next three years, including over 200,000 this year alone."

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 NHS has made significant progress already, virtually eliminating two year waits for care by the end of July and from surgical hubs to robotic surgery, our staff continue to find innovative ways to speed up care for patients."

The hubs will also help address variation in performance between trusts, as they are required to meet national standards on numbers of operations, the full use of theatre facilities, and ensuring patients are discharged on the same day as their operation. All of this will help to drive up performance across the country.

The government has worked with the NHS to identify which areas will benefit most from surgical hubs. The selection process for surgical hub locations is clinically led and aims to ensure the new hubs are connected to the right local services - such as acute hospital sites - and tackle local healthcare inequalities while promoting the best outcomes for patients and delivering value for taxpayers.

So far, locations for 20 new or expanded hubs have already been confirmed, and bids for the remaining hubs are set to be considered over the coming weeks and months as more business cases are received to determine the new sites meet design standards.

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