New chronic pain treatment suite opens at Halton Hospital

The clinical treatment suite, based at Halton Hospital, aims to reduce waiting lists as part of a £145,000 investment in the facility.

It will allow patients to be seen and treated without requiring admitting to a ward or visiting an operating theatre to have their procedure.

The plan is to treat up to 14 patients a day, Monday to Friday, and while patients who require additional care following procedures can be referred to the surgical ward, the majority will go home within hours of their procedure direct from the clinical treatment room.

The design of the facility is a walk in and walk out approach to provide efficiency and allowing more patients to be treated.

The focus for the suite is to treat patients who are experiencing chronic back pain and to improve their quality of life, with Louise Hughes, from Runcorn, being the first patient to be treated in the new facility.

She said: “I was very impressed. The fact it was all within one area provided privacy and dignity, as previously you booked into the ward, but then had to be transported to theatres and back.

“I particularly liked the locker facilities, which allowed me to bring my tablet and phone to look at pre-procedure and then after. I was delighted to be able to go home within hours of my procedure.

The suite is located at Halton Hospital

“Having this facility will make a huge difference to those like me suffering from chronic pain, who have had to wait three years for treatment because of the delays caused by the pandemic.

“I am feeling a lot better after having my radio frequency treatment last week, and it has improved my daily life.”

Guy Hanson, service manager for theatres, added: “The clinical treatment suite will provide us with more flexibility for treating more patients, releasing valuable capacity in our operating theatres to allow more surgery to take place at the Halton site.

“Previously, patients requiring pain injections would book into a bed space on the main ward and be taken to theatres to have their injection, reducing surgery slots.

“Now, this new facility will enhance our patients’ experience as they will book in, be shown to the changing room to get changed into a gown and be seated in our comfortable bays while they await their turn for their procedure in our treatment suite.

“Once they have had their procedure, they will be cared for in our two-bedded recovery area, before returning to the chair bays to be monitored and provided with refreshments if required before being discharged.”

The facility will be used in partnership with The Walton Centre for chronic pain procedures and Countess of Chester Hospital for vascular treatment.