Recently it was announced that The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust has comitted additional funding to St Michaels in order to expand the work that it does on orthopaedic care and increase the number of people cared for at hospital in Hayle.
For a number of years, it has been clear that there is capacity to do more at St Michael's and there were concerns two years ago that too much orthopaedic work was being centralised at Trelsike which is already under pressure and stretched to capacity. This change of approach with more done in Hayle should help tackle patient delay for operations, reduce cancellations and shorten the average length of stay as well as releasing space at Treliske.
The improvements will also see the Trust increase the percentage of planned orthopaedic procedures at St Michael’s Hospital from the existing 69% to over 90% - more than 500 cases more per year by 2019. Treliske has had some difficult times in recent years but St Michael’s Hospital has been rated ‘Outstanding’ for caring by the Care Quality Commission and this investment by the Trust will help to build on this reputation and ensure all patients get excellent care.
George said, "St Michael's Hospital already provides an outstanding service to patients from across Cornwall. This news of further investment will improve services allowing more orthopaedic procedures to be undertaken, helping to treat more people. This is great news for everyone receiving care in Cornwall."