Treatment centre to expand in new eye hospital

A service carrying up to 7,000 operations a year is set to grow when a new eye hospital opens next summer, health bosses have said.

Sunderland Eye Infirmary's Cataract Treatment Centre (CTC) will expand with a third theatre when the new facility on the former Vaux Brewery site in the city centre starts operating in 2026.

The extra theatre would be brought into use gradually, offering more operations to help meet a rising demand, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust said.

Ajay Kotagiri, clinical director of ophthalmology, said the patient flow in the new building would be "much better".

The new site will replace the eye infirmary building on Queen Alexandra Road, which is almost 80 years old.

The trust said the aging building was a challenge to run, with its "old plumbing, heating systems and infrastructure making it difficult" for the CTC team to work in.

"The new building will make such a difference," Mr Kotagiri said, adding: "There will be more space and it will offer top facilities for those who lead in their field.

"The flow for patients will be much better, especially for pre-op because it will all be next to each other on the same floor.

"We're also looking forward to increasing our capacity, helping more people than we can now."

The CTC, which the trust said was "one of the biggest services of its kind in the country", will be located on the third floor of the new building.

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