The Integrated Care Board (ICB) of Suffolk and North East Essex will be opening a state-of-the-art orthopaedic ward that cost £34m in Colchester this summer. 

Essex and Suffolk Elective Orthopaedic Centre (ESEOC) was approved in June 2021 to reduce wait times at the West Suffolk Hospital. 

It is believed that this will reduce wait times by as much as four weeks. 

The aim is that 1,457 cases would move from the West Suffolk Hospital to the new Colchester ward, while still looking after 1,165 cases, yearly. 

The new site in Colchester has cost £34m to be built (Image: Newsquest)

The Colchester site would give care to patients from East Suffolk, North Essex, Ipswich and Colchester. 

Wait times overall Suffolk and North Essex hospitals have been on a rapid rise since the pandemic. 

The latest figures show that on average a patient may have to wait 18 weeks before being treated at the hospital. 

In an attempt to change that, the new orthopaedic wing in Colchester has an increased amount of theatres and wards. 

The original plan set out that ESEOC would contain six operating theatres and two wards, however on receiving further funding in July 2022, they expanded their plans to eight theatres and three wards. 

This would make ESEOC Europe's largest orthopaedic centre. 

The ESEOC would be Europe's biggest orthopaedic centre (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Plans state that 80% of hip and knee surgeries would move to the new site, while West Suffolk Hospital will still operate on the majority of ankle, feet and shoulder procedures. 

The two sites would share the load of the upper limb and day case procedures moving forward. 

The current aim of this plan is to operate on twice the amount of patients that the trust can at the current time. 

Along with this, they aim to be able to free up one operating theatre in the West Suffolk Hospital, which would be used to help patients with recovery after their procedure. 

Specialist teams would also be present at the centre to ensure the care of patients is met. 

ESEOC would also contain a training centre for locals who are studying to become orthopaedic surgeons. 

Nick Hulme, chief executive of the East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Ipswich and Colchester hospitals (Image: Archant)

Nick Hulme, chief executive of ESNEFT, said the new centre was a "fantastic opportunity" for patients and to improve care.

He said: "Even before Covid we had waiting times which were starting to creep towards six months, eight months, and we are now looking nationally at waiting times for orthopaedic patients of two years.

"Everything we can do to reduce those waiting times, I believe we have to do."

The ICB will meet this evening.