MP Katie White opens the £12m elective care Hub at Wharfedale Hospital

The new £12million Elective Care Unit at Wharfedale Hospital – which reduces the time patients wait for surgery and provides protected space for planned operations to take place – has been officially opened by Katie White, MP for North West Leeds.

Katie joined Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s Chair Dame Linda Pollard, director of estates and facilities Craige Richardson and a range of other colleagues to officially open the facility. She also spoke with staff, toured the new facility and learned about the 600-panel strong solar canopy in the car park which generates electricity to run the hospital.

The Elective Care Hub at the hospital in Otley creates additional operating theatre capacity away from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s main acute hospital sites, increasing the number of patients that can be treated each week. Having a dedicated Elective Care Hub away means there is capacity which can confidently be used all-year-round.

It includes two new theatres (taking the total number at the hospital to four), a recovery area, an admissions and discharge area alongside making an existing ward operational overnight.

The Hub provides operations including general surgery, minor cancers, urology and benign gynaecology. Other improvements include the day unit and phlebotomy services moving into refurbished areas and a dedicated hysteroscopy treatment suite. Overall, the space for clinical services has increased.

It is estimated that an additional 3,500 people per year will be seen, and patients will benefit from the quieter, relaxed environment and faster treatment times.

Katie White MP said: “It was a privilege to open the new Elective Care Hub, meeting the dedicated staff and seeing their commitment to delivering the best care for patients was truly inspiring.

“The new facilities will make a real difference to services and improve support for patients in Leeds North West. And the inclusion of renewable energy sources in the Hub, such as the solar panel canopy in the car park, will help lower emissions for a healthier planet.

“Improving and reforming our NHS won’t be quick or easy. But the government has the plan, the investment, and the determination to get it done. I’m proud to stand alongside the NHS staff I met at Wharfedale, and I will keep standing up for a better health service for everyone in our community.”

Dame Linda said: “We are so pleased Katie was able to join us to officially open the Elective Care Hub. Katie really appreciated a chat with brilliant staff members and to see for herself our amazing new facility. The investment also underlines our commitment to investing in Wharfedale Hospital and the important part it plays in the Trust delivering care.”

Craige said: “The Elective Care Hub represents a significant enhancement to the hospital, purpose-built to ensure efficient, high-quality patient care. Thank you to the teams who have worked hard to deliver this project which we are all very proud of. This project exemplifies our commitment to modernising our healthcare infrastructure to meet future demands, bringing benefits for both patients and staff.”

The Hub also provides extra capacity for teams from Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, who alongside Leeds Teaching Hospitals secured NHS England funding to support post-Covid recovery works. During the Covid pandemic, across the NHS a backlog of elective operations built up which teams have been working hard to address.

Jonathan Coulter, chief executive of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It was great to be at the official opening of such a wonderful facility at Wharfedale Hospital, within which HDFT will be providing a number of planned operations for patients. This will help us to further improve on the high-quality health care service we provide in collaboration with LTHT. We look forward to continue working with colleagues at LTHT to bring benefits to patients in the area.”

Welcoming the new Surgical Hub, Cllr Sandy Lay, a former senior nurse at the hospital, said: “This is the third significant investment and partnership provided by Leeds Teaching Hospitals. It follows the reopening of the previously closed top floor, which, in collaboration with NHS community healthcare partners, providing much-needed inpatient provision for older people.

“We then saw the development of the Urgent Treatment Centre, which built upon the existing Minor Injuries Unit. This means the local community can access urgent care for injuries and illnesses, along with out-of-hours GP services.

“Now, working with Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust, patients will be able to access surgery right here in Otley. This is a great step forward for healthcare in our area.”

Cllr Colin Campbell also welcomed the development. He said: “We’re going to work closely with the Trust, our local GPs, and other partners to encourage as many patients as possible to make use of these fantastic facilities. We’ll be launching a campaign called ‘Opt for Otley,’ encouraging residents to choose Otley for their care whenever possible.

“By opting for Otley, we hope to save local residents the inconvenience of traveling to hospitals in Leeds or Harrogate. This, in turn, will help free up beds and resources in those hospitals for patients who need to be treated there. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.”