A Somerset village hospital could be turned into a major regional specialist hub within the year.

Private hospital Circle Bath in Peasedown St John was bought by Bath’s Royal United Hospital in 2021, who renamed it Sulis Hospital. Health bosses are planning to turn the hospital into a “regional hub” for orthopaedic operations, operating on hips, knees, shoulders, and other joints.

Now the plans are set to go before Bath and North East Somerset Council, as the RUH has submitted a planning application for two new operating theatres as part of the plan. The RUH hopes to begin construction in March 2023 with a target completion date in the summer.

Sulis Orthopaedic Elective Centre (SEOC) will involve building a one-storey extension to the east side of the main building and will add a fifth and sixth operating theatre to the hospital, as well as associated spaces.

Sulis Hospital is a “cold site” with no A&E. The RUH say this means that the orthopaedic hub will be “ring-fenced” from disruption caused to elective operations by the need to prioritise emergency care.

A statement submitted with the application said: “The numbers of people waiting for non-emergency surgery has been rising for several years and the Covid-19 pandemic has led to significant increases. The SEOC will add capacity for NHS elective orthopaedic surgery in the South West.

“It will be a centre of excellence working to national best practice standards for operating at maximum efficiency and providing high quality care. Surgery will be protected from disruption and cancellations caused by surges in emergency hospital admissions because Sulis Hospital is not an A&E hospital and as such the SEOC will enhance the resilience of services into the future.”

Despite being owned by an NHS Trust, Sulis Hospital is currently mainly a private hospital, although it has been providing an increasing amount of NHS care. As the Sulis Orthopaedic Elective Centre, the hospital will be a “system resource” for elective surgery for patients from the local area and across the South West.

You can view and comment on the application here.

John Wimperis, LDRS