A new surgery suite is opening at Hutt Hospital next week. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
A new five-room surgery suite opening at Hutt Hospital next week is expected to slash patient wait times.
The suite will serve patients who need surgery under local anaesthetic, including for skin cancer.
Te Whatu Ora Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley said it would allow those patients to be cared for in a more appropriate environment.
The organisation's interim lead hospital and specialist services, Jamie Duncan, said as it stood, patients needing those procedures were treated and cared for in the hospital's main operating theatres.
"We expect to carry out over 500 procedures in the new suite in its first year," he said in a statement.
"This will help free up Hutt Hospital's main operating theatres to focus on more complex procedures under general anaesthetic, leading to improved surgical wait times."
The suite will be opened for patients on Monday 3 April.
Te Whatu Ora said a new 23-hour, eight bed unit in the hospital's surgical recovery area will also open in April, further improving wait times.