Theatre staff add historical mementos to time capsule at £25m surgical centre

A time capsule has been installed at Cheshire and Merseyside Surgical Centre at Clatterbridge Hospital during phase two of the project. 

The metal capsule contains items especially chosen by staff at the centre to mark this year, including mementoes, pictures, newspapers and personal messages.

Joining staff and contractors as the capsule was delivered to the site Hayley Kendall, Chief Operating Officer at Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH), said: “All the items in the time capsule have a special meaning to the staff who selected them. It’s great that this will now be installed in the fabric of the building as part of its history and can be opened at a later date for people to look back on.”

Phase one of the Cheshire and Merseyside Surgical Centre opened in November last year to help clear the backlog of patients waiting for elective surgery as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, more than 2,500 patients across the region have had procedures at the centre.

This innovative development has seen the theatres created as modular buildings, meaning they were largely pre-built before arriving on site, and constructed on to the side of the current theatres at Clatterbridge Hospital. This has reduced time for completion and ensured that the centre was up and running as soon as possible.

Following completion of the second phase of the £25 million project, which has been financed through national NHS funding, the centre will treat around 6,000 patients each year across Cheshire and Merseyside.

Janelle Holmes, Chief Executive at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, said: “The centre has already made a huge difference to the many patients who have had their treatment. It’s fantastic that phase two is near completion and we will be able to treat even more patients from across the region.”