Hawke’s Bay District Health Board has blessed and opened a new theatre operations centre (TOC) this week at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, completing the first stage of its $20.8 million project to build a new operating theatre, upgrade surgical services and help reduce waiting times.

The new centre will be the operational hub of the hospital’s Perioperative Unit (theatre block) where clinical handovers between shifts are held and key information is displayed on large screens, such as emergency surgery waiting lists and data from the wider hospital, including how busy other departments such as ED are. The duty anaesthetist and clinical nurse coordinator are also now based in TOC.

Anna Harland, Perioperative Manager says, “The centre supports greater collaboration and communication between our multidisciplinary teams to ensure a safe and efficient patient journey through the unit.

“The screens mean all of our team are accessing the same live data at a glance to support decision-making and so we can respond quickly to any issues if they arise.”

The hospital also opened a new link bridge for staff this month, which joins the top floor of the hospital’s gastroenterology and endoscopy services (Ruakopito) with the theatre block.

“The link bridge means theatre staff have access to better change rooms and a better staff room, and we can use the old spaces to create new clinical and patient areas,’” says Anna.

These are a new theatre admission and discharge unit (TADU) and an additional theatre to perform more surgeries for Hawke’s Bay.

TADU – stage two - is on track to open in the next couple of months, which will be followed by an upgrade of the post anaesthetic unit (PACU), while stage three, building a new base for the orderlies, is already complete. Construction for stage five – creating a new office and loan store for sterile services - is also underway.

The DHB estimates the contractor Hawkins will finish stage nine, construction of the new theatre – theatre eight – in early 2023.

For further information about the Surgical Services Expansion Project and other projects underway to upgrade the hospital visit: http://hbdhbprojects.nz/.

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