Is it an emergency?
Posted on
in West Suffolk News
Local people have until this Sunday (30 June) to give their views on a proposal to move around 55% of elective orthopaedic surgery to the new Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre in Colchester (ESEOC).
The proposal outlines how relocating some surgical operations to this new centre on the Colchester Hospital site would increase capacity and enable speedier treatment for those needing hip, knee, ankle and shoulder surgery.
Since mid-May, the NHS has been working with Healthwatch Suffolk to gather views on how implementing the proposal could affect the west Suffolk community.
Already almost 1,400 pieces of feedback have been received, through a series of mini exhibitions which have visited Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, Haverhill, Sudbury, Thetford, Mildenhall and Brandon as well as online and hardcopy feedback forms and virtual events.
Healthwatch Suffolk will produce an independent report based on all the feedback received.
This will be discussed at the public board meeting of the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board – which has led the engagement exercise – on 30 July where a final decision will be made.
Andrew Dunn, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and Clinical Director at the Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre, said: “Thank you to everyone who has taken time to give their feedback.
“It was extremely interesting to meet and talk with some of those attending the mini-exhibition events to hear their thoughts on this proposal, which would mean patients would not have to wait so long to receive treatment and reduce the time they are living with discomfort and pain.
“If you haven’t already done so, please take some time to read the proposal and submit your views by the June 30 deadline.”
Details of the proposal and the various ways of giving feedback can be found on the dedicated ESEOC web page.