Queen Margaret Hospital's £2 million procedural unit opens

The new unit was opened by acting chair of the NHS Fife board, Alistair Morris. it has been open to patients since September and is designed to increase capacity for day surgery and improve the experience of patients.

Completion of the unit enables patients having procedures under local anaesthetic to be admitted straight into the theatre suite rather than the day surgery ward.

The unit should help free up space in the surgery ward (Image: NHS Fife)

This frees up space in the ward for patients requiring general anaesthetic and will also help increase overall theatre capacity as a result.

The project to reconfigure under-utilised areas within the hospital’s Day Surgery Unit began in February 2021. These works have enabled the creation of a new Unit within Day Surgery through capital investment of £2m.

Alistair Morris, chair of the Fife NHS Board, said: “I was delighted to officially open the new Procedure Unit at Queen Margaret Hospital. Queen Margaret Hospital has truly become a centre of excellence in day surgery over recent years, pioneering many new surgical innovations ahead of anywhere else in the country.

“With many more procedures now able to be carried out as day-cases, it is vitally important that we maximise our day surgery capacity wherever possible, particularly given the impact the pandemic has had on waiting times.

“This new unit will not only help us increase surgical capacity, but it enables us to provide care in a new, bright and purpose-built setting which helps us improve the experience for patients also.”

The unit aims to improve patient care by providing a more modern environment (Image: NHS Fife)