Dunedin Filleul Surgical Centre opens today

Te Whatu Ora in Southern is excited to announce the opening of the new Filleul Surgical Centre today.

This purpose-built centre, located at 30 Filleul Street in Central Dunedin, will offer Ophthalmology Day surgery for eye patients in the wider Otago community. Working in partnership with *Matua Healthcare Group, this facility will be used by both the Ophthalmology Department of Dunedin Hospital for public patients and local Ophthalmologists for private surgery.

The Centre will offer day eye surgeries outside Dunedin Hospital, freeing up space in acute hospital theatres. The Ophthalmology team has worked collaboratively on the design of the new facility and the Centre will offer patients a friendly and comfortable environment for care and treatment.

The Centre is equipped with two procedure rooms and nurse injection clinic spaces. Procedures include cataract surgery, intraocular injections, and general eye procedures that usually take less than an hour to perform.

There are parking spaces for patient drop-off and pick-up, and accessible access via York Place.

It will be open for the public eye surgery service four days per week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday) from 8am to 5pm.

Clinical Project Manager, Melissa Law says the new centre provides a comfortable setting and seamless experience for eye patients.

“The team have come together to create a carefully considered space that will support the treatment journey for our patients.”

Erica Doucet, Ophthalmologist and Co-Clinical Lead of the Dunedin Eye Department, says the project is a real win from the clinical perspective.

“The addition of this facility will result in an increase in available surgery time for our specialty. Other departments will also benefit from improved access to the Hospital operating theatres as a large number of eye procedures are moved out to Filleul. Diverting a great portion of our intraocular injections to the new surgical centre will also free up space at the eye department and improve hospital patient flow for other eye services.”

Erica notes that the new surgical centre is designed to maximise patient throughput, allowing the team of experienced nurses and surgeons to work more efficiently. “This will result in faster turnaround times and an increase in the number of surgeries that can be performed on a given day, while maintaining the highest level of safety and quality. The patient experience will also be enhanced within a facility specifically designed for ophthalmology.”

Mel Peck, Acting Unit Manager Ophthalmology Outpatients for Dunedin Hospital, says it will be wonderful for patients and staff to have a fit-for-purpose eye operating suite. “We hope the efficiencies gained in the layout will mean we can see more people in our community eye surgery clinic when needed, and decrease waiting room time for those who require regular procedures.”

Hamish Brown, Te Whatu Ora Interim Lead - Hospital and Specialist Services for Southern says the Centre is a great example of a collaborative health service that reflects community needs and preferences.

“The Centre will deliver high-quality vision correction and patient care and assist with decreasing our current waiting times. Te Whatu Ora in Southern is thrilled to be a part of this new Centre.”

The new Filleul Surgical Centre expects to have the first operation during the week commencing 3 April, 2023.

Visit the Filleul Surgical Centre website to learn more.

*Editor’s Note: Matua Healthcare Group is a network of Healthcare Providers in New Zealand.