A NEW Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) hub is being created at Townlands Memorial Hospital in Henley.
The new centre is part of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust’s coronavirus recovery plans.
The hub will provide ENT, audiology and plastic surgery services, and will be open to patients across Berkshire later this month.
Currently, these services are provided in Reading. But the clinic buildings have been deemed a ‘cause of concern’ by the Care Quality Commission.
“Some of our buildings on the Reading site date from 1839 and are no longer fit for purpose,” said Nick Lloyd, acting chief executive of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.
“Our ambition is to modernise and provide all our services from state of the art facilities.”
According to the Trust, the move to Henley will provide high quality, spacious facilities for staff and patients. The new clinic is part of the Trust’s modernisation of outpatient services.
It also plans to use more virtual clinics, reduce follow-up appointments, and improve access to health care.
John Howell, MP for Henley, said: “I welcome the expansion of clinical services being provided from Townlands. It will mean health care being provided in a more convenient way, closer to the community and easier to access.”
Rogan Corbridge, ENT surgeon, added: “The whole team are looking forward to the opportunity to be able to provide our services out of a purpose built modern facility.
“The move to Townlands means we can see more patients each day.”
While services are being moved to Townlands Memorial Hospital, clinics will remain open on other Trust sites in Newbury, Bracknell and Reading.
The Trust is working with local authorities and travel companies to support travel to the new clinic.
