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Patients visiting Peterborough City Hospital’s Head and Neck department are benefiting from a new monthly service which allows them to be treated and discharged in less than an hour.

North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust’s ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) team has successfully launched a new outpatient service offering grommet insertion for adult patients under local anaesthetic.

Launched just a few weeks ago, the first list was a great success, says the team, with patients completing their procedures and leaving the department within just 50 minutes.

To date, four patients have been seen in one trial clinic, but there are plans to see six patients every six weeks. 

As well as helping to enhance the patient pathway, the service has already led to a reduction in theatre activity by four hours, plus additional time saved in the Day Treatment Unit (DTU) for pre- and post-operative care.

 

Danielle Gordon, Divisional Operations Manager, Head & Neck Business Unit, said:

“This allows the ENT team to repurpose valuable theatre time to focus on cancer and paediatric surgeries, improving access and outcomes for these critical services.

“Importantly, this shift enhances patient safety by reducing the need for general anaesthetic, shortens hospital stays, and enables patients to resume normal activities within hours — including returning to work and driving themselves home.”

She added: “Feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive, with patients describing the experience as “fantastic.” One patient, who wears a back brace due to a long-standing condition, shared that the outpatient setting made the procedure far more manageable than a traditional theatre environment.”

The initiative is a multi-disciplinary team effort, thanks to the ENT nursing team, led by Sister Jo Ruby and Deputy Sister Abby Orollo; and ENT Consultant Mr Asad Qayyum.

 

Pic cap:

Left to right Celia Nogueira, Healthcare Assistant; Minimol Thomas, Senior Staff Nurse; Jane Sallabanks, Head & Neck Cancer Enhanced Nurse Practitioner; Abby Orollo, ENT Deputy Sister; Asad Qayyum, ENT Consultant and Lesley Puleston, Staff Nurse.