A large crane will arrive at Colchester Hospital on Monday (27 February) to lift the first building blocks of a brand new £64 million elective orthopaedic centre into place.
During the week, the crane will move the first 37 of 289 pre-built modules which will make up the centre into position. As the modules will be delivered by trucks, the roads close to the building site on the hospital grounds may be busy at times, although contractors will be working hard to keep any disruption to a minimum.
The project to create the elective orthopaedic centre is being spearheaded by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), which runs Colchester Hospital.
Once complete, the state-of-the-art unit will cater for patients from Essex and Suffolk who need planned operations on bones, joints and muscles, such as hip and knee replacements. As the surgery will take place in a dedicated unit, it will mean fewer cancelled operations and shorter waiting times for patients.
The centre is due to open to patients next year. It will be named after the late Dame Clare Marx, who was an orthopaedic surgeon at Ipswich Hospital, the first female president of both the British Orthopaedic Association and the Royal College of Surgeons of England and chair of the General Medical Council.
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