Orthopaedic joint replacement surgery resumes

Orthopaedic joint replacement surgery has resumed at the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford, which will reduce the amount of time that patients are waiting for operations.

Planned joint replacement surgery at The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH), which runs the PRH and Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, restarted in phases with hip replacement operations first followed by knee replacement surgery.

The first patient was Gloria Malpass-Leek, pictured, who had a hip replacement operation and was walking on the same day.

The orthopaedic team has also introduced a new enhanced recovery pathway. Using new surgical and anaesthetic techniques patients are able to walk within hours of surgery and return home sooner.

Since re-opening, many patients have been discharged on the day after their surgery, whereas previously most patients stayed an average of four days. This is helping patients to regain their independence sooner, reducing the risk of infections and increasing the number of operations.

Elective surgery for joint replacements was paused in December 2023 due to estates issues on the recovery ward.

Ned Hobbs, Chief Operating Officer at SaTH, said: “It is wonderful news for our patients and the Trust that planned orthopaedic surgery has resumed at PRH. I would like to thank our patients for their support and understanding during this time and to the many teams across the Trust who have worked so tirelessly to get the service back up and running.

“An extensive amount of work has had to take place with a complex set of ward moves to provide a suitable environment for patients having elective orthopaedic procedures to recover following surgery.”

Pic: The first patient Gloria Malpass-Leek with members of staff on Ward 5