Opening of the North West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre
North West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre, (EOC) opened on Monday 4 December 2023.
The North West London Acute Provider Collaborative (comprising the four north west London acute NHS trusts) agreed to bring together much of the routine, inpatient orthopaedic surgery for the population of north west London in a purpose-designed, centre of excellence at Central Middlesex Hospital.
The decision follows a public consultation on the proposals, plus further feedback, review and scrutiny.
Phased opening
We are implementing a phased opening of the EOC, with an initial operating capacity of three theatres, increasing to five theatres in late March 2024.
Our first patient received knee surgery on the 4 December and was back at home the same day. Surgeons from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust and London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust will treat 46 patients in the centre’s first week and 102 throughout December. Surgeons from The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will join the EOC next March when the centre moves to full capacity.
All north west London NHS trusts recently made a successful move to a new electronic patient records system. This system allows for safe sharing of health records seamlessly across trusts. This is an essential element of the EOC, allowing for the streamlining of inter-trust referrals across a large geographical area.
Patients and pathways
The centre’s focus is on ‘high volume, low complexity’ bone and joint procedures, including knee and hip replacements.
Patients will normally only attend the EOC on the day of their surgery. Their care will be overseen by the consultant from their local hospital, who will join them at Central Middlesex Hospital to do the surgery on the day. The rest of the patient’s care – before and after surgery – will take place at their local hospital, in their community, or online at home.
If you would like more information or clarification, please contact us at: nhsnwl.eoc@nhs.net or visit www.nwl-acute-provider-collaborative.nhs.uk/key-projects/elective-orthopaedic-centre.