A brand new, state-of-the-art facility which will help increase the number of planned surgeries in the North West, has welcomed its first patients.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Surgical Centre, part of the Victoria Infirmary in Northwich will treat around 12,000 patients every year including a large number of ‘high-volume low-complexity’ patients from across the region who require less complex operations and procedures.

The centre will also become a cataract centre of excellence, and a regional hub for outstanding cataract care. This will mean fewer people waiting for cataract surgery, with referral to treatment in three weeks or less, as well as improved patient care.

Across the North West, there are 10 surgical hubs which bring together the skills and expertise of staff, and operations can be performed quickly and effectively under one roof. And as the hubs are separated from emergency services, surgical beds are kept free for patients waiting for planned operations, reducing the risk of short-notice cancellations due to other emergency admissions taking priority.

Of the 10 surgical hubs in the region, seven have been accredited by NHS England’s Getting it Right First Time programme. The scheme assesses surgical hubs against a framework of standards to help them deliver some of the most common surgical procedures, such as cataract surgery and hip replacement, more quickly. It also seeks to assure patients about the high standards of clinical care.

The most recent to be accredited was the £15 million Westmorland General surgical hub, part of University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS FT, which benefits from two new operating theatres, three refurbished theatres with ultra-clean canopy technology, a new four-storey extension with advanced air handling systems and expanded recovery areas, clinical rooms, and support facilities

Surgical hubs are intrinsic to the NHS reaching the ’18-week’ target – the operational standard of 92% of patients waiting less than 18-weeks from referral to treatment for non-urgent, consultant-led procedures – by March 2029, as set out in the Elective Care Reform Plan.

Most recent data published by the NHS shows that trusts across the North West performed almost 2,000 (1,847) more planned surgeries in March 2025 than in the same month in 2024. In the same period, hardworking North West NHS teams also slashed the number of people waiting more than 65-weeks for surgery by more than 2,300 people.

Dr Michael Gregory, Regional Medical Director for NHS England in the North West said: “The new Cheshire and Merseyside Surgical Centre is a fantastic addition to the North West, and will help to tackle the backlog of patients waiting for care across the region.

“Despite the progress teams have made, there are still too many people waiting too long for elective care, but dedicated surgical hubs are making a real impact, reducing waiting times significantly for patients, and at the same time, improving their experience of care.”

Some trusts benefit from two surgical hubs, such as at Northern Care Alliance which operates a surgical hub at Fairfield General Hospital at weekends providing ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgery, and orthopaedic surgery to patients, and another elective surgery hub at Rochdale Infirmary, seven days a week, with specialists including gynaecology, urology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, vascular, oral and maxillofacial, and plastic surgery all covered there.