{"id":149402,"date":"2025-03-14T07:44:20","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T07:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=149402"},"modified":"2025-03-13T15:00:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T15:00:12","slug":"modular-operating-theatre-launched-to-help-clear-nhs-elective-backlog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/mmc-news\/modular-operating-theatre-launched-to-help-clear-nhs-elective-backlog\/149402\/","title":{"rendered":"Modular operating theatre launched to help clear NHS elective backlog"},"content":{"rendered":"

Darwin Group have launched a modular operating theatre- “the first of its kind”- to help NHS organisations clear the elective backlog of over 7m procedures<\/h2>\n

The modular On-Demand Ultraclean Operating Theatre is HBN and HTM compliant and could offer the NHS the additional surgical capacity needed to clear the elective backlog<\/a>, which numbers around 7.46m treatments.<\/p>\n

Formally launched at the Institute of Government & Public Policy\u2019s (IGPP) fifth Annual Operating Theatres Show in London, Darwin Group claims the theatre is the first hireable modular operating theatre.<\/p>\n

The modular operating theatre would support hospitals in need of refurbishment<\/h3>\n

The On-Demand Ultraclean Operating Theatre can also support trusts and organisations needing to undertake maintenance and lifecycle programmes of work to their existing theatres, acting as a decant space<\/a> allowing elective procedures to continue throughout any maintenance programme.<\/p>\n

Nick Dawe, managing director, at Darwin Group commented: \u201cToo many patients are waiting too long for life-changing surgeries, much to the frustration of them and hard-working staff. We know that the lack of appropriate theatre space is one of the biggest barriers to reducing the elective backlog.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile temporary operating theatres have been available for some time, clinician feedback has told us that other solutions do not always provide the right environment for complex and intricate surgeries due to unstable floors. Our On-Demand Ultraclean Operating Theatre comes with the right grounding to perform even the most intricate of surgeries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Digital twins were used to ensure coordination across the development process<\/h3>\n

Approximately 90% of the project is being developed off-site using volumetric construction and careful, considered co-ordination through a digital twin model.<\/p>\n

The modules have been engineered to be as standardised and considered as possible. For example, pipe-runs terminate in predictable and accessible places, all doorframes are positioned for off-site installation, and the MAT Eco-Stealth Theatre Canopy is coordinated as part of the off-site assembly.<\/p>\n

These methods minimise on-site construction time, ensuring the Trust and communities benefit from the project as quickly as possible. Other sustainability technologies deployed in the project include:<\/p>\n