'Slick and efficient': Shropshire hospital trust doubles up on its surgery list for the first time in a bid to slash waiting times
Surgeons at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) have for the first time carried out two simultaneous high-intensity theatre lists on the same day.
High intensity theatre (HIT) lists are specialised, high-efficiency surgical programmes designed to reduce hospital waiting lists for elective procedures.
At SaTH, 20 patients had their routine day case operations as part of the all-day lists – which were carried out in parallel at Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford.
The lists are part of SaTH's plans to offer high-quality surgical care for patients across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Mid Wales enabling them to have their planned operation much quicker.
It is the first time the trust has carried out two simultaneous HIT lists in one day, reducing the amount of time patients are waiting for their planned operations.
The HIT lists are meticulously planned in advance by a multidisciplinary team, including selecting appropriate patients and streamlining processes so surgeons have time to operate on more patients safely.
The HIT lists were led by Mr Saurav Chakravartty, consultant upper GI and bariatric surgeon, and Mr Adam Farquharson, consultant colorectal surgeon.
The procedures undertaken were routine, low complexity - gall bladders, hernias and colorectal operations - and were carried out in the Elective Surgical Hub at PRH.
The first patient on Mr Farquharson’s list was Kevin Metcalfe, aged 64, from Shrewsbury. He said: “I checked in at 7.30am, in surgery by 9am and I was wide awake at 10am. It has been a really slick and efficient process, and the staff have been fantastic. I feel tremendous.”
Mr Farquharson said: “HIT lists are routine, low complexity lists and are super-efficient and safe. They improve a patient’s pathway through the theatre which then allows us to do more cases on each list. The team works together to plan the day to minimise the turnaround time between cases, enabling the surgeon more time to operate.”
Mr Chakravartty said: “It has been an amazing experience. We have managed to run lists so that we have three to four patients extra on the lists – it has taken a huge amount of organisation by all our teams. This is positive news for our patients needing routine operations as they are having their treatment much quicker, which supports a better experience and health outcomes.”
James Wright, deputy chief operating officer, said: “This double HIT list is an incredible achievement. A massive amount of work went into making the lists a success. Our teams worked together with such precision, organisation and commitment.
“This is another move forward in creating the best experience for our patients and reducing our waiting times using the resources we have.”
Dr Jess Sokolov, regional medical director for NHS England in the Midlands, said: “It is great to see this innovative approach by SaTH’s elective surgery hub helping to maximise the number of patients being treated in our region – and we understand thousands of patients have benefitted from treatment since the hub opened in 2024.
“Across the Midlands, we are seeing the number of patients waiting for treatment falling far quicker than the national average and it is through work like this at SaTH that we are able to help Midlands patients access treatment faster.”
The latest data released by NHS England (for December 2025) shows that 64.1 per cent of patients were seen within 18 weeks of being referred for elective treatment at SaTH.
