ARMIDALE residents are less likely to have to wait or need to travel for surgery with the arrival of a new operating theatre bed at Armidale Hospital thanks to the Greater Building Society.
The $50,000 bed takes the total number of operating beds at the hospital to three.
Service manager Dona Withnell said the new bed means the hospital procedure room can now effectively be a third operating theatre.
Ms Withnell said surgical staff now have more flexibility to manage urgent surgery without interrupting booked surgery.
Armidale Hospital has two operating theatres and a procedure room. It provides a range of surgery including orthopaedics, general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology, dental and endoscopic.
Clincial Nurse Specialist Nadia Makeham said the new theatre bed will help in attracting more surgeons to the hospital.
“By opening up another theatre we are hopeful this will attract more surgeons and enable us to work on a lot more operating sessions throughout the week, giving better service to the community,” she said.
“We are now doing at least 20 more patients a week which makes a lot of difference to our waiting lists.”
The hospital donation has come from the $1.5 million fund that the Greater Building Society established when it merged with Armidale Building Society in 2011. The money is to be spent in the New England over 15 years.
The fund was also used to provide Armidale-based Ascent Group with $50,000 towards the construction of Walker House, a supported accommodation centre for five local people with complex disabilities.
The Greater Charitable Foundation also funds regular visits by Captain Starlight to Armidale and Tamworth hospitals as part of Starlight Children’s Foundation diversional therapy programs.
