Surgical hub recruitment

The Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care System is creating a new surgical centre to reduce waiting times for surgery for patients across Hertfordshire and west Essex. It is a purpose-built theatre suite at St Albans City Hospital that is set to open in Spring 2025. Once up and running, it will provide non-complex orthopaedic, hip and knee surgery, spinal injections and ear, nose and throat (ENT) procedures for around 4,400 patients per year.

Staff from the three NHS hospital trusts in Herts and west Essex (East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, The Princess Alexandra Hospitals NHS Trust and West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust) will come together to provide care at the surgical centre, which will be open six days a week, excluding Sundays and bank holidays.

Creating a new theatre suite to deliver planned surgery will lead to shorter waits for our patients. There is no emergency service at the St Albans City Hospital site which means that there is no risk of surgery being cancelled due to theatres and associated beds being needed for urgent cases. The facilities in the surgical centre are ring-fenced for patients waiting for planned operations and procedures.

This is a wonderful opportunity to part of a multidisciplinary team as it comes together to provide a first-class service to our patients.

Available roles include:

• Theatre staff – anaesthetics, orthopaedic scrub and recovery
• Theatre support workers
• Ward nurses
• Healthcare support workers
• Housekeepers
• Acute pain clinical nurse specialist
• Orthopaedic physiotherpists
• Therapy assistant practitioners
• Pharmacists
• Radiogaphers
• Radiographic department assistants
• Waiting list co-ordinators
• Management roles within the business unit

The centre will mean quicker access to non-complex operations and procedures for patients.

The building’s base and steel structure are in place, the lift shaft and main staircase have been installed and the operating theatre floors have been added.

The photos below show an overview of the construction to date. Revisit this page for further updates.

• The Hertfordshire and West Essex Surgical Centre provides an exciting opportunity to be part of a NEW team working in NEW theatres!
• There will be approximately 150 new roles.
• West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (WHTH) is the recruiting trust and all roles (except medics) will be employed by WHTH.
• Working in a ring-fenced planned care facility means that surgery/surgical procedures will not be cancelled due to emergency or staffing pressures.
• This collaboration will blend the best working practices from all three trusts in brand new facilities.
• The patient pathway is geared to same day discharge, with effective post-op planning provided in advance.
• Innovation will be at the heart of this new service.
• An extra 5% on top of your basic salary (Higher Cost Area Supplement subject to a minimum payment of £1,192 and a maximum payment of £2,011).
• No operating on Sundays or bank holidays.
• As part of our commitment to providing an inclusive and healthy working environment, we’re aiming to create a culture where flexible working is available to all staff while balancing the needs of service.
• Lots of scope for support for personal and professional development.

Will patients be given the choice to go to the HWE Surgical Centre or stay at their current Trust?

Yes, all patients will be given the choice to have surgery at the HWE Surgical Centre or at their home Trust.They will be informed of the waiting times at both locations to help them make an informed decision.

Who will schedule the patient's surgery?

The HWE Surgical Centre will have a dedicated Business Unit with administration, management support and waiting list coordinators. The surgery will therefore be scheduled by dedicated waiting list coordinators and the management team will manage the surgical pathway for the patient.

Who will employ the HWE Surgical Centre staff?

West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will employ the large majority of staff (theatre staff, ward staff, operational/admin team). The surgeons and anaesthetists will be employed by the three trusts and work on a sessional basis at the Surgical Centre.

When will the HWE Surgical Centre open?

The plan is to open the Surgical Centre in 2025.

Which patients be able to have surgery at the HWE Surgical Centre?

The centre will initially be available for patients who require hip and knee replacements, spinal Injections and some ENT procedures. The patients will need to be low complexity and will meet an eligibility criteria.

Where will patients receive their outpatient appointments?

Patients will receive their outpatient appointments, including pre-operative assessment (POA) and their follow up care, at their local trust.

If you would like to find out more about job opportunities with the HWE Surgical Centre, please get in touch with one of the following people or send your enquiry to the central inbox: westherts.electivehubHR@nhs.net.

Theatres

Kelly-Jo Toomey
k.toomey@nhs.net

Nursing

SarahJane Turner, Matron for Surgery
sarahjane.turner1@nhs.net

Pharmacy

Hussein Ladha, Pharmacy Team Lead - Surgery
hussein.ladha1@nhs.net

Therapies

Claire Lawson Orthopaedic Physio Lead
claire.lawson@nhs.net

Radiology

Punal Ravrani Maru, Deputy Radiology Services Manager
p.ravrani-maru@nhs.net

Business Unit – admissions

Ana Santos, Surgical Centre Operations Manager
ana.regodossantos@nhs.net