Inevitably there would be pressure on staff while
Haymills, the contractors, were faced with the problems of working
around them in a confined site.
The answer was a collaborative working arrangement
with everyone signing up to a project charter setting out a team working
ethic.
The eight day period over Easter proved the value of
this.
Rosaleen Cullen explains just what was involved.
Rosaleen, previously deputy in orthopaedics and trauma, was
seconded originally to undertake a role dealing with instrumentation. This
later developed so that she has in effect become the interface between theatre
staff, Estates and Haymills.
"Leaving certain areas to be refurbished, then moving
back in has been quite tricky," she says.
"For the Easter weekend we had to move practically the
whole department into Day Surgery.
 |
 |
| The
anaesthetic room in the new theatre and the new operating tables in the
Sussex County theatres replacing those built over 30 years ago. |
"During that period they did the main ceiling of the
department and finished the refurbishment of theatre 3 and the build of
theatre 7. While that was going on, there were also changes to theatres 1 and
2.
"We moved out and everybody got involved. Staff came
in and did extra hours, we had removal companies to help move the heavy stuff.
When we moved back to organise deep cleaning we involved
people like ISS and Estates. We had special air tests done and the
commissioning process had to go on.
"We shut down on the Wednesday evening prior to Easter
and were out of the theatre area from Thursday morning and allowed back in at
9 a.m. the following Thursday."
Effectively, then, seven working theatres became two,
operations been carried out in the Day Surgery Unit while the main department
was cleared.
Trauma and emergency lists were back in the department by 5 p.m. on
Thursday and the remainder by 8 a.m. on Friday.
