JULIE Marson, MP for Hertford and Stortford, welcomes a new hybrid theatre for vascular services in Hertfordshire.

Over £10 million in funding from the Department of Health and Social Care and Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board will create a new hybrid theatre at Lister Hospital.

As a combined operating theatre and interventional radiology suite, patients will undergo complex procedures like inserting stents using minimally invasive techniques to treat aneurysms and leg arteries that can help reduce hospital stay and the risk of leg amputations.

Approval for the theatre is the next big step in creating a vascular network benefitting patients with disorders of the arteries, veins and lymphatics, involving vascular specialists from East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, and West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

As vascular services are very specialised, consolidating them into one main surgery hub helps to sustain clinical expertise and improve outcomes for patients.

Construction is set to begin, with the new theatre at Lister Hospital due to open in late spring 2024.

Commenting, Ms Marson said:

“This is great news for people in Hertford and Stortford with vascular problems who require highly specialised, and often urgent, treatment.

“Alongside The Princess Alexandra Hospital’s state-of-the-art rebuild and new Community Diagnostic Centre at Herts & Essex Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford, constituents will have better access to a range of new and improved healthcare services.

“I look forward to supporting this for years to come.”