Steve Barclay promises 50 new surgical hubs across England

Fifty surgical hubs will be opened across the country to tackle backlogs caused by the Covid pandemic, health secretary Steve Barclay has announced.

Speaking outside Moorfields Eye Hospital in east London on Thursday, 25 August, where he was confronted by an angry woman over ambulance delays, Mr Barclay said that the hubs were a “huge step forward.”

“We not only have more capacity... but also patients come from the wards much quicker into the operating theatre, we address the flow of patients through surgery, and...deliver far more operations than before,” Mr Barclay added.

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