An £11m new building aimed at helping the region's largest hospital tackle its growing surgery waiting list has been given the green light.
South Norfolk Council has granted planning permission to build the new orthopaedic centre at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
Health bosses say they hope the centre can begin treating its first patients in the summer.
They believe the facility is essential to help cut the hospital's waiting list of more than 10,000 people waiting for orthopaedic surgeries.
The backlog is the sixth-longest in the country and will likely take years to clear.
The new centre will perform around 2,500 procedures every year for patients requiring foot, hip, knee or shoulder operations.
It will cost £11.4m overall, with £2m of this raised by the NNUH's hospital charity foundation.
James Wimhurst, NNUH orthopaedic surgeon and clinical lead for the project said: “We are excited to see the Norfolk and Norwich Orthopaedic Centre receive its planning permission, taking the project one step closer to delivering care in a new and exciting facility.
“This will offer a fantastic addition to our orthopaedic work, offering patients first class care in a dedicated unit adjacent to the hospital. We are also recruiting additional doctors, nurses and other specialist staff to help run the centre.”
Simon Hackwell, director of strategy and major projects at the hospital, said: “This is part of an ongoing investment in our surgical facilities to help us catch up on the backlog of work created by Covid. We are close to opening two new paediatric theatres in our Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital and last year we developed three new day surgery theatres for less complex work. We have a lot of patients who require orthopaedic care and they are a high priority for us, so the new NaNOC will be a great help.
“I would also like to thank our N&N Hospitals Charity which has pledged to raise £2m towards equipping the centre. This generous support enables this much needed project to become a reality.”
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