Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s state-of-the-art surgical hub, Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre, has achieved prestigious national accreditation, recognising the delivery of outstanding standards of patient care, safety and operational excellence at the facility.
The Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre, based at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, is among just 83 surgical hubs nationally to receive accreditation through NHS England's Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) surgical hub accreditation programme, delivered in partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons of England and supported by the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
Since opening in September 2025, the centre has already treated almost 1,000 patients from across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, helping people access planned orthopaedic surgery more quickly. The team expects to treat its 1,000th patient on 13 July 2026. The specialist facility has also achieved an impressive 44% day-case rate, meaning almost half of patients are able to return home on the same day as their procedure.
Designed to increase capacity for elective care, the purpose-built centre provides treatment for adults requiring procedures such as hip and knee replacements. By operating separately from emergency services, the hub is protected from many of the pressures affecting acute hospital sites, helping to reduce cancellations, improve patient flow and enhance patient experience.
Shaun Carr, Operations Director for Hampshire Hospitals, said: “Achieving national accreditation less than a year after opening is a fantastic achievement and reflects the hard work of everyone involved in delivering care at our Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre.
"In the 10 months we have been operating, we have already treated almost 1,000 patients, many of whom have been able to return home on the same day as their operation which is terrific. These results demonstrate the significant impact the centre is already having on improving access to surgery and underlines our commitment to reducing waiting times and providing the very best care closer to home.”
The GIRFT programme accreditation scheme assesses surgical hubs against a framework of standards to help hubs deliver faster access to some of the most common surgical procedures, has been running since March 2023.
Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre has been accredited as recognition that the hub is working to a defined set of clinical and operational standards on the patient pathway, staff and training, clinical governance and outcomes, facilities and ring-fencing, and utilisation and productivity.
Professor Tim Briggs, GIRFT programme lead and NHS England’s National Director for Clinical Improvement and Elective Recovery, said: “We have been impressed with the professionalism and enthusiasm of the hub teams who are delivering outstanding care.
“All of the sites we accredited are focused on delivering safe and high-quality care, and an excellent patient experience. GIRFT’s focus is on developing surgical hubs with the aim of improving patient flow so that patients have shorter waits for surgery and, for some procedures, will be more likely to be able to go home on the same day.”
To find out more about the Hampshire Orthopaedic Centre, please visit hampshirehospitals.nhs.uk/HOC.
