Work is underway to ensure the operating theatres on level one of the Prince of Wales Hospital (PoWH) Acute Services Building (ASB) will deliver the highest level of care when they open in 2025.
The PoWH Change and Commissioning Team is working with operating theatre staff on the design, model of care and identification of state-of-the-art equipment for the new facilities.
The Acute Services Operating Suite (ASOS) will house 12 operating theatres, including an emergency theatre and a hybrid theatre. The hybrid theatre will have built-in imaging capabilities, designed to perform minimally invasive surgery and enable conversion to an open procedure.
Developing a model of care is a key area of focus for the team. This will include a new model for the satellite day-of-surgery admissions space in the theatres suite. It will also address workflows between the current Randwick Campus Operating Suite (RCOS) and ASOS.
“The new PoWH theatres in the ASB will be spectacular,” says Andrew Maxwell, Nursing and Operations Co-Director of the Surgery Program at PoWH.
A lot of groundwork has been done to put patient flow at the forefront of our management. The surgical departments have been engaged in developing new, innovative models of care. All perioperative staff cannot wait to move in once they are complete!
The PoWH Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment Project Officer, Dindin Latorre, is confirming the specialised equipment required for the new theatres with the clinical team. Specialists from neurosurgery and vascular surgery, amongst others, will provide input.
To deliver the future operating theatres, construction activity within the ASOS space on Level 1 of the ASB will commence in the coming months and continue throughout 2024. Pictured: One of four previously completed operating theatre room on Level 1 of the ASB, which will be complemented by eight additional theatres. All are anticipated to be operational in late 2025. Published April 2024