New NHS ‘training and innovation’ centres
Five NHS treatment centres have been designated centres of “training and innovation”.
The move means the centres will receive £1.5 million a year for the next three years in extra funding.
The Government hopes that they will act as “models of good practise” in both day surgery and short stay elective care.
Health Minister John Hutton, said: “These flagship centres have demonstrated that they are amongst the leaders in their field. They have all developed new and exciting ways of working in short-stay elective care, which has led to better and faster care for patients.
“I hope that the rest of the NHS will look to these centres and learn from their experiences.
“Day surgery is not only good for patients, but also for the NHS – it fits both with our intention to reduce lengths of stay in hospital, and also to increase provision outside the acute sector. The NHS Plan predicted that around three-quarters of operations will be carried out on a day case basis by 2010, and we are on target to meet this – current figures show that the rate has gone up from 60 per cent in 1996 to 68 per cent in 2002/03.”
The five centres are: Imperial College Faculty of Medicine and the NHS in West London; Birmingham and the Black Country SHA; South Devon Healthcare NHS Trust; North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire SHA; and King’s College Hospital, London.
All will become operational in April 2005.
