The idea of separating emergency and elective (planned) care is not new but the genuine determination to improve services after the Covid pandemic has given this impetus.
In summer 2022, the Royal College of Surgeons of England released a report, The case for surgical hubs, to lay out the benefits of separating emergency and elective care for patients and the wider health service.
Hubs can be integrated – based within a hospital but with beds and resources ringfenced for elective care – or they can be standalone, based in a separate building. In some instances, a whole specialist hospital or site can be dedicated to elective surgical care.
From the patient perspective it reduces the awful experience of last-minute cancellation. For staff it means much more efficient use of time and a predictable training opportunity to ensure skilled staff for the future.
There are now 91 hubs up and running with 50 more in the pipeline. One great advantage is that it is easier to make such premises “Covid secure” and to manage other infections more efficiently
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