Ashford and St. Peter’s supports report which says surgery will be closer to home in the future

‘Saws and scalpels to lasers and robots’ report worth a read

Consultants and managers at Ashford and St. Peter’s have welcomed the report ‘Saws and Scalpels to Lasers and Robots – Advances in Surgery’ published on 17th April by the Department of Health.   The hospitals Trust, which carried out over 22,000 day case surgical procedures in 2005/06, recognises that in the future specialist in-patient surgery will be more centralised but the vast majority of procedures will be undertaken as day cases.

Kieran Dawson, Consultant Vascular Surgeon and Clinical Director for Surgery at Ashford and St. Peter’s, says: “In my lifetime the way we operate and what we can do for patients has changed.  Now much cardiac and vascular intervention is done by minimally invasive balloon dilatation rather than open surgical bypass.     With the minimally invasive techniques now available we can do much more as day surgery and allow patients to recuperate at home, where they tell us they would prefer to be.”

Around 78 per cent of surgery at Ashford and St. Peter’s is done as day surgery.   A simple comparison between 1997/98 (the year preceding Ashford and St. Peter’s hospitals c together as a Trust) and the latest full year for which data is available, 2005/06, illustrates the changes in medical practice and it’s impact on patients.

Mr Dawson continued: “As a patient and local family man myself, I would want the best possible treatment.   For clinical reasons it is important that we bring together more specialised surgery, such as the vascular work that I do, into centres of excellence.   As a surgeon it is important that I and those that I train see sufficient patients to maintain and enhance our skills.   Bringing these specialist cases together so they are seen at a specialist centre makes both clinical and economic sense.  The report by Professor Sir Ara Darzi is well worth a read.”

Changes in services between Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals, consulted on over three years ago and implemented from February 2006, are changing the way both hospitals work.   More in-patient surgery and specialist work is being carried out on the St. Peter’s site and more day surgery work is undertaken at Ashford.   Consultant Diabetologist and Medical Director for the Trust, Dr Mike Baxter, comments: “We recognised when the Trust was established ten years ago that things had to change.   We could not stand still whilst medical practice advanced.   We have also had to cope with a rigorous financial regime.    Our changes, made over time with the support of our consultants and nurses, have enabled us to adapt, treat more patients and save money.    Ashford and St. Peter’s is well positioned to meet the challenges of the future and continue to meet the needs of our local population whether they need day surgery or more specialist treatment.”