Halton Hospital to merge day and short stay surgery units

Health chiefs believe the move will create ‘a better, streamlined facility’ and stress that no jobs will be lost.

However, former staff and patients fear amalgamating the day case surgical unit with ward B4 could affect the quality and efficiency of the service.

They claim the day case surgical unit has established an excellent reputation over the past 25 years.

One ex-employee said: “This was the most productive ward in the whole hospital.

“There was a quick turnaround of patients and a very low infection rate.”

Jan Ross, acting chief operation officer at NHS Warrington and Halton Hospitals, said: “The trust has been exploring how it can best transform its day and short-stay surgery service on the Halton hospital site to ensure that it meets the needs of current and future patients.

“Advances in surgical techniques means that most patients can now have their procedures and go home the same day, which is meeting modern expectations.

“Patients choosing to have their procedures at Halton Hospital consistently rate it as five stars on NHS Choices and highly recommend it as a place to receive treatment.

“The increasing sophistication and development of surgical techniques has nationally reduced hospitals’ requirements for surgical beds.

“Having modelled the anticipated needs of our patient populations the trust will merge the existing short-stay ward B4 with the day case unit to create a best-practice, streamlined facility with effect from mid-July 2017.

“Staff were fully engaged and consulted on the merger and offered valuable ideas for the future development of the service which were unanimous in the focus on delivering a high quality, safe and efficient surgery experience for patients.

“Wherever possible those staff affected will continue as part of the newly merged service and an additional, significant number of other opportunities have been offered across the organisation.

“To confirm, no jobs will be lost as part of this process.”