Over 18,500 patients have safely received planned care at the Croydon Elective Centre since it opened in July 2020, despite the pressures of the pandemic. The ‘Covid-protected’ hospital within a hospital has been dubbed a ‘blueprint for the NHS’, seeing around 300 patients from across South West London every week for routine surgery or planned care – more than a 10% increase since pre-pandemic levels.
Around 2,000 patients have been referred to the centre from neighbouring trusts as part of a coordinate approach to tackle the backlogs caused by the pandemic in South West London.
The Croydon Elective Centre has its own separate entrance, operating theatres, inpatient wards and a catheter lab, with strict infection prevention and control measures to keep it protected.
Stella Vig, Consultant Surgeon and Clinical Director for Covid-19 Recovery at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said:
“The Croydon Elective Centre is a great example of how clinically-led innovation can make a real difference to the lives of our patients and staff, as well as the wider health system.
“As well as allowing us to continue providing care during the second peak of the pandemic, the centre is now helping other hospitals across South West London to treat their patients more quickly and has opened up opportunities for other parts of the hospital to work in different ways.
“Since the Centre opened, we have bolstered our emergency care with the development of the Emergency Surgical Centre, the launch of a same-day Surgical Assessment Hub and most recently, the start of elective procedures at our Purley Elective Centre, based at Purley War Memorial Hospital, further improving timely access to care for patients in Croydon.”