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Issue No. 36 Spring 2023
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YourTRUST INSIDE:
New recruits join Trust after careers event – Page 3
Blood testing centre opens at Merry Hill – Page 2
Hospital staff rewarded for long service – Page 11
State-of-the-art hybrid theatre is area’s first To improve its service to the community, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust has invested £1 million in a state-ofthe-art robotic hybrid operating theatre, the first of its kind in the region.
Hybrid theatres combine the en‐ vironment of an operating theatre with the imaging capabilities and allows for not only routine surgical procedures, but also combined cath‐ eter‐based interventions and open surgery under a single anaesthetic. Chief executive Diane Wake said: “We are very proud to be opening such a fantastic new facility here in Dudley and know that it will make such a difference to our patients of the Black Country population.
Innovative
“We pride ourselves on being in‐ novative and forward‐thinking and this hybrid theatre will allow us to meet our strategic goal of delivering the high‐quality vascular services every time.” Among the many advantages to this forward‐thinking project is the capacity to treat a patient with one solution rather than having them return for repeated interventions. In addition, the Trust now has the ability to avoid some of the open op‐ erations through using anti‐vascular techniques. Mr Atiq‐ur Rehman, deputy chief of surgery, said: “The robotic hybrid operating theatre will provide a better experience and best quality service for our patients, and a safer, more streamlined pathway for their treatment. “It will also enable vascular spe‐ cialists to carry out less invasive sur‐
The Dudley Group’s new hybrid theatre is the first of its kind to open in the Midlands region
gery which would traditionally have required a much bigger open opera‐ tion. Thanks to the state‐of‐the‐art facility, this will improve patients’ outcomes and reduce their length of stay in the hospital.” The combination of imaging ca‐ pabilities ensures that the surgeries are far more accurate than other methods, using lower dosages of ra‐ diation and providing clearer imag‐ es. There is also a lower risk of infec‐ tion in hybrid surgeries. The theatre is now complete, af‐ ter extensive staff training and sim‐ ulation, and the vascular and radiol‐ ogy teams have welcomed their first patients. Russells Hall Hospital is the Spe‐ cialist Vascular Centre for the Black Country, covering Dudley, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
DudleyGroupNHS
Celebrating the work of our incredible staff
Chief executive Diane Wake
A message from chief executive Diane Wake Welcome to the latest edi‐ tion of Your Trust. In this edition we are proud to celebrate some of the incredible work that our teams are involved with to en‐ sure the people of Dudley receive the best treatment possible. You will be aware that the winter has been a challenging time for the NHS and in Dudley we have been no exception. Many of you will have accessed one of our services in recent months and we thank you for your pa‐ tience and understanding during our busy times. I am very proud that even un‐ der intense winter pressure our staff have achieved so many re‐ markable things. As you will see throughout this edition of Your Trust, we continue to set the standard for excellence particu‐ larly with our work on equality, diversity and inclusion and im‐ plementing new technologies. Our increasing use of virtual solutions including our paediat‐ ric virtual ward and respirato‐ ry virtual ward are saving 100s of hours of hospital admissions. This means that you and your families increasingly remain at home with loved ones and not have to spend prolonged time in hospital. I am particularly excited by our new hybrid theatre and our new robotic solutions which you will hear more about throughout the year. These will provide a better experience and best qual‐ ity service for our patients, and a safer, more streamlined path‐ way for their treatment.
See Page 2 Patients are now accessing the hybrid theatre
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