NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (NHSGGC) kidney transplant surgeons carried out a record six kidney transplants in 24 hours – just three days after moving into the new South Glasgow University Hospital (SGUH).
Before the move to the £842 Million SGUH, surgeons on average carried out three kidney transplants a week. In just 24 hours, the team carried out the equivalent of two weeks’ worth of transplants.
Two days earlier the team also performed two procedures; one day after moving from the Western Infirmary on Sunday, 10 May.
Chris Deighan, Consultant Nephrologist/Clinical Director, NHSGGC, said: “The facilities in the new SGUH enabled us to perform two weeks’ worth of transplants in only 24 hours.
“This could never have been achieved with the infrastructure at the Western Infirmary.
“We utilised two parallel theatres and had access to more beds. This new facility offers us not only physically brand new theatres but extra, dedicated capacity that the much smaller Western just didn’t have.
“Renal transplants are associated with improved patient survival and a vastly improved quality of life compared with dialysis.
“We have developed a renal services strategy where we are now delivering up to 150 transplants each year – almost doubling the number of transplants carried out five years ago.”
John Asher, Consultant Transplant & General surgeon, NHSGGC, said: “Many of our team of theatre nurses and anaesthetic staff were working together for the first time.
“It’s a real testament to the skills of all the team that we were in a position to carry out so many complex surgeries within such a short time of the team being formed and moving to the new hospital.
“We hope the new hospital will allow us to build on this early success and enable us to deliver the benefits of a transplant to even more patients in the coming years.”
Health Secretary Shona Robison said: “The staff working throughout the South Glasgow University Hospital are working hard to deliver for their patients, following one of the largest and most complex transfer of hospital services ever undertaken in the UK.
“The surgical team in the Renal Unit at the South Glasgow University Hospital must be congratulated for this impressive record, just days after moving to the new hospital.
“It is evidence that the new facilities and co-location of surgical teams in Glasgow have made a dramatic difference to the quality and efficiency of care provided to patients.”