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Hospital operating theatres 'to remain closed until May'

Torbay-Hospital
(Last Updated On: December 6, 2018)

Two out of three operating theatres currently out of action at Torbay Hospital are to remain closed “until at least May”, with the possibility that only one of those will be able to re-open then, managers say.

Three theatres were initially closed last week because of problems with ventilation. The hospital has 10 theatres.

It will mean about 250 patients will have their operations cancelled, postponed or rearranged between now and Christmas.

Interim Chief Operating Officer John Harrison said staff anticipated being able to re-open one of the theatres “by the end of this week” after replacing a broken part.But he added that, of the two others, “it is possible we will only be able to re-open one rather than both”.

He said: “We are investigating options to build a new theatre on site, as well as bringing forward plans to replace our ageing theatres.”

The hospital said it was sincerely sorry for any distress, inconvenience or pain caused to patients.

Bob Jope HealthwatchTorbay

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(Author)

Apart from five years studying in Oxford I’ve lived most of my life in London where for many years I was Head of English in a prestigious girls’ school, but since taking early retirement and heading West to be nearer to my two daughters - settling in Torbay with my wife, Anna, in 2011 - I’ve worked in the voluntary sector. I took on the role of Service Provider, for example, promoting the Red Cross Torbay Navigators Project, while now I’m a Trustee and part of the Media Team for our local Healthwatch. I’m a governor at Torquay Academy, too, giving me the chance to stay up to date with what’s happening in the world of education. Other interests, aside from friends and family, include art and art history, reading - from contemporary fiction and poetry to Elizabethan/Jacobean literature - history, politics, cooking, walking, and music, in particular Bob Dylan, the blues, and early Elvis. I love writing, too, with one novel published so far – Elvis in Wonderland – and another, Who’s There?, that still needs plenty of work!