Robin Hood opens brand new namesake theatres and recovery suite at Nottingham City Hospital
Three new purpose-built operating theatres and a recovery unit – named the Robin Hood Suite – have been officially opened by the legendary outlaw himself.
The modular building on Nottingham University Hospitals’ City Hospital campus provides state-of-the-art facilities for patients requiring planned surgery, including robotics-assisted operations.
The brand-new theatres, named the Robin Hood Suite, host a multitude of specialties including colorectal, hepatobiliary, ear, nose and throat and upper gastrointestinal. Robotic procedures are also be performed during cancer operations and other surgery.
The facility includes a post-operation recovery unit – an Enhanced Peri-Operative Care (EPOC) unit – as well as and two 10-bedded wards called the Jubilee Unit.
With this new building now open, elective colorectal and simple elective hepatobiliary (HPB) procedures has moved from the Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) to the City Hospital site. This means our patients will have faster access to High-Dependency beds. It also frees up bed capacity at QMC, putting us in a stronger position to cope with future demands on services.
Duncan Hanslow, Reconfiguration Programme Director, said: “We are delighted to have the Jubilee Unit and the Robin Hood Suite up and running.
“The buildings provide a great environment not only for our staff to work in, but for our patients to recover following surgery, helping to ensure we provide the best patient experience possible.
“These impressive facilities are already helping us to address the backlog of patients waiting for elective surgery for a number of conditions and illnesses.
NUH Chief Executive Anthony May OBE DL, said: “We are pleased to have received the support from NHS England to help fund the new Jubilee Unit, and Robin Hood Suite theatres. The new state of the art facilities will improve patient experience and outcomes, and will play an important part in our Trust wide winter plan by protecting elective care and planned surgery during the busy winter months.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in this project for their commitment to making this happen. This includes colleagues involved in planning and preparing for the build, and the teams on the unit and in theatres who provide a vital service to our patients every day.”
Works on the Jubilee Unit, Robin Hood Suite and EPOC were undertaken by Darwin Group.
Jim Pierce, Darwin Deputy CEO, said: “We were thrilled to attend the official opening of the new Jubilee Unit and Robin Hood Suite Theatres at Nottingham City Hospital. This is a proud moment for us, having worked closely with the Trust to deliver state-of-the-art facilities to enhance patient care.
“We look forward to witnessing this project’s long-lasting, positive impact on the community for years to come.”
One of the NUH colleagues working in the new Robin Hood Theatre Suite facilities is Sika – a Theatre Practitioner in the colorectal team. His role includes working as a scrub nurse to support surgeons undertaking operations. This role requires an extensive knowledge of medical equipment and its purpose to ensure that the correct piece of kit is handed to the surgeon to allow them to perform a successful operation.
Sika, originally from Ghana, had grown up with aspirations of being a surgeon and working within a clinical environment. After studying nursing at university, Sika decided to pursue a career as a scrub nurse to fulfil his ambition of working alongside surgeons.
When Sika moved to the UK he undertook his first role within a theatre environment at Southampton University Hospital before moving to NUH in April of this year.
Four months into his role, Sika is enjoying life at NUH and said: “It has been fantastic, I love it here. All the questions I asked during the interview and everything I was told is happening. We have a good team, with good bonding, a good manager and it has been amazing.”
Sika has found the transition from working in Ghana to the UK very smooth and, despite stepping out of his comfort zone, has felt supported as he has settled into life at NUH.
He said: “People from all walks of life and different backgrounds are given equal opportunities. Once you have the passion and come forward to do something you will be given the opportunity to grow into whoever you want to become.”
Sika is also really enjoying working in the newly built Robin Hood Suite and says: “I feel privileged to be working in this newly built theatre suite with brand new equipment. It is a great space which creates a therapeutic and conducive environment for our patients and staff working here. It also feels relaxing to work here as there is enough space to accommodate more staff and to house modern colorectal medical and surgical equipment compared to traditional theatres.”
Looking forward, Sika would like to further his career within theatres and has already been given opportunities to attend conferences and leadership seminars to help him to realise this dream.
Our theatre team are always looking to add to their workforce and have some fantastic opportunities available
For more information and to apply visit All vacancies | NUH.