Internal Reference Number: FOI_9546
Date Request Received: 13/07/2026 00:00:00
Date Request Replied To: 04/08/2026 00:00:00
This response was sent via: By Email
Request Summary: Operating Theatres and Surgical Equipment
Request Category: Companies
| Question Number 1: Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and, where the information concerns the trust's buildings or estate, the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR), I request the recorded information set out below. Please treat each question under whichever regime applies. Where a question asks about future plans, please provide only information the trust currently holds in recorded form, such as an approved business case or an entry in the capital programme. Where no time period is given, the most recent available figure is fine. 1. Aseptic labs and services (pharmacy cleanrooms) 1a. How many aseptic preparation units (pharmacy cleanrooms where sterile medicines are made up) does the trust operate, and what does each mainly prepare (for example chemotherapy, intravenous additives, intravenous feeding, or radiopharmacy, which is radioactive tracers for scans? 1b. For each aseptic unit, in what year was it built or last fully refurbished? A full refurbishment includes replacing the cleanroom air-handling or ventilation. 1c. Does each unit hold a manufacturing 鈥渟pecials鈥� licence from the medicines regulator (the MHRA), or does it operate under the pharmacy exemption (section 10 of the Medicines Act) without a licence? 1d. Has the trust assessed its aseptic units against the current sterile-preparation standard (the updated Annex 1 rules on cleanroom air quality)? If so, do any units fall short of it or need upgrading to comply? 1e. Is any aseptic preparation outsourced to a commercial or external NHS unit? If so, to which provider, and roughly what share of the workload? 1f. Are there approved or planned schemes in the next five years to build, expand, replace or refurbish aseptic units? For each, please give a brief description, an indicative value, and the expected date. 1g. In the last five years, has limited aseptic capacity affected the trust's ability to prepare chemotherapy or other sterile medicines, or led to buying them in from an outside provider? Please describe briefly. | |
| Answer To Question 1: 1. Aseptic labs and services (pharmacy cleanrooms) 1a. How many aseptic preparation units (pharmacy cleanrooms where sterile medicines are made up) does the trust operate, and what does each mainly prepare (for example chemotherapy, intravenous additives, intravenous feeding, or radiopharmacy, which is radioactive tracers for scans? One for chemo and one for CIVAS 1b. For each aseptic unit, in what year was it built or last fully refurbished? A full refurbishment includes replacing the cleanroom air-handling or ventilation. About 15 years ago. 1c. Does each unit hold a manufacturing 鈥渟pecials鈥� licence from the medicines regulator (the MHRA), or does it operate under the pharmacy exemption (section 10 of the Medicines Act) without a licence? S10 1d. Has the trust assessed its aseptic units against the current sterile-preparation standard (the updated Annex 1 rules on cleanroom air quality)? If so, do any units fall short of it or need upgrading to comply? Yes and no. 1e. Is any aseptic preparation outsourced to a commercial or external NHS unit? If so, to which provider, and roughly what share of the workload? Yes and various suppliers. 75-99% depending on the capacity of our unit at the time. 1f. Are there approved or planned schemes in the next five years to build, expand, replace or refurbish aseptic units? For each, please give a brief description, an indicative value, and the expected date. Plan to refurbish the chemo room this year (new flooring, walls, hatches and replace on isolator 鈥� about 拢190k) 1g. In the last five years, has limited aseptic capacity affected the trust's ability to prepare chemotherapy or other sterile medicines, or led to buying them in from an outside provider? Please describe briefly. Yes, both in planned and unplanned closures. | |
| Question Number 2: Surgical robots and theatre technology 2a. How many surgical robotic systems does the trust currently operate, and of what make and model? 2b. Are there approved or planned schemes to acquire further robotic systems within the next five years? Please give the number and the expected date. 2c. Have any operating theatres been enlarged or upgraded to take robotic or hybrid use in the last five years, or are any such works planned? If so, please describe briefly. | |
| Answer To Question 2: Q2a 鈥� One robot currently, Make and model is Versius V-SS-1000 Q2b 鈥� High level conversations are commencing 鈥� no dates available Q2c 鈥� No although new DSU are being built to a different size | |
| Question Number 3: Wards and day surgery 3a.. What was the day-case rate for elective surgery (the percentage of elective procedures carried out as day cases) over the most recent twelve months? 3b. Are there approved or planned schemes within the next five years to refurbish or replace surgical wards, or to create a new day-surgery unit? Please describe briefly, with expected dates. | |
| Answer To Question 3: 3a 鈥� Model Hospital currently showing us at 88.2% (March 26) 3b 鈥� The Trust is currently commissioning a new elective care centre with plans to open in the Autumn of 2028 | |
| Question Number 4: Estate agency and continuity 4a. Is RAAC present anywhere in the trust's estate? If yes, is any of it in, or directly adjacent to, operating theatres, endoscopy or decontamination facilities? 4b. In the last five financial years, has the trust used any temporary, mobile or modular clinical facility (theatre, ward, endoscopy, decontamination or diagnostic unit)? For each, please give the facility type, the supplier where recorded, the duration of use, and the total spend. 4c. Does the trust hold a current decant or continuity plan that anticipates moving surgical, endoscopy or decontamination services out of their normal location to allow refurbishment or replacement within the next five years? | |
| Answer To Question 4: Please see attached. Response from Theatres: 4a - No 4b 鈥� No 4c 鈥� Yes the building of an elective care centre to replace our existing DSU and endoscopy suites To accompany this answer to question 4 please also see the documents listed below:  FOI 9546 - Q4.pdf | |
| Question Number 5: Capital programme and procurement 5a. Please list the trust's currently approved or planned capital schemes for the next five years that affect operating theatres, endoscopy, decontamination, aseptic services, or surgical wards. For each, please give the scheme name, a brief description, an indicative value, and the expected start and finish dates. 5b. Through which framework or frameworks does the trust usually procure temporary or modular clinical buildings (for example, NHS Supply Chain or Crown Commercial Service)? 5c. In the last five years, has the trust considered or used private finance, third-party investment, or a rental or managed-service arrangement to provide clinical capacity? If so, please describe briefly. | |
| Answer To Question 5: 5a. Please list the trust's currently approved or planned capital schemes for the next five years that affect operating theatres, endoscopy, decontamination, aseptic services, or surgical wards. For each, please give the scheme name, a brief description, an indicative value, and the expected start and finish dates. The Trust is planning an 拢83m development for a diagnostic and surgical hub, to include 5 day surgery theatres, 4 endoscopy procedure rooms and 2 scanners. The Trust is currently seeking approval for its outline business case. Subject to the necessary approvals, the scheme will start on site early in 2027 and will look to be complete in Autumn 2028. 5b. Through which framework or frameworks does the trust usually procure temporary or modular clinical buildings (for example, NHS Supply Chain or Crown Commercial Service)? The Trust selects the most appropriate framework on a project by project basis. However the Trust has used NHS SBS Framework as a viable route. 5c. In the last five years, has the trust considered or used private finance, third-party investment, or a rental or managed-service arrangement to provide clinical capacity? If so, please describe briefly. The Trust has considered using rental approaches for additional theatre capacity, but these have not proved viable to date. | |
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