A major milestone in the construction of a new Orthopaedic Outpatients Department at Hampshire Hospitals has been reached, with colleagues, supporters and project contractors coming together as part of a topping out ceremony at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.
The celebration, hosted at the site of the new facility, was attended by Hampshire Hospitals’ staff members, project contractors from Integrated Health Projects (IHP), and supporters, with the Trust’s outgoing chair, Steve Erskine, applying the final concrete element of the build.
The Orthopaedic Outpatients Department, which is due to open in Autumn 2025, will help to provide more capacity for patients requiring orthopaedic operations such as hip and knee replacements.
The facility will significantly reduce how long patients at Hampshire Hospitals will need to wait for an elective outpatient appointment. A “one-stop” model will also reduce the number of follow-up appointments needed by delivering care to patients in fewer appointments.
In addition to the new Orthopaedic Outpatient Department, building work to deliver a Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital is also well underway. Operating six days a week, this new centre will see consultants from Hampshire Hospitals and University Hospital Southampton come together to deliver an additional 2,400 orthopaedic procedures for patients from both trusts.
Both orthopaedic facilities are part of Hampshire Hospitals’ ongoing commitment and investment into services in Winchester.
Julie Maskery, Strategic Projects Director for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to celebrate this latest milestone in our Orthopaedic Outpatients Department project. This facility, alongside the new Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre, will ensure we can see thousands more patients requiring orthopaedic procedures each year and treat them more quickly.
“We are always working hard to improve our services and these projects will help us to meet the continued demand we are seeing for orthopaedic care across the county – we’re excited to welcome patients to these new facilities next autumn.”
As part of the topping out ceremony, the regional director of Integrated Health Projects, Jason Griffiths, also announced a pledge to purchase gifts and resources worth over £3,000 to Hampshire Hospitals Charity which will be used to support the Trust’s Paediatric Play Team in their work with young children receiving care this Christmas and over the coming months.
Jason Griffiths, Regional Director of Integrated Health Projects, said: “IHP are delighted to be celebrating this important milestone with the whole team, working with Hampshire Hospitals to deliver these amazing health projects.”
