Damien (pictured) was admitted to Maidstone Hospital, had hip replacement surgery, was back on his feet and on his way home the same day, thanks to pioneering hip surgery at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

He was one of the patients benefiting from another high intensity theatre (HIT) list, with Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Mr Syed Ahmed and his team performing seven hip replacement surgeries in just one day.

Aiming for peak efficiency and safety, HIT lists remove delays and maximise the time the surgeon has to operate.

Supported by an expert team including pharmacists, radiographers, and physiotherapists this approach allows the team to treat more patients efficiently and safely by:

• carefully selecting suitable patients
• making sure patients are fully prepared before surgery
• getting rid of delays by shortening the turnaround time in the operating theatre between patients

This means the team can carry out out up to 50% more surgeries each day, helping us treat more patients, more quickly.

Mr Ahmed said: “From the patient’s perspective they are just having the procedure and don’t notice all the work behind the scenes. This approach helps us see even more patients and means we can reduce their stay in hospital and recovery time. We are looking forward to taking the same approach into the new Kent and Medway Orthopaedic Centre later this year, where the team aim to consistently perform at the highest level on the NHS Getting It Right First time (GIRFT) metrics of clinical outcome, patient experience and productivity.”