THE UNIT
Background
The extensive range of facilities and expertise available within the Wellington Hospital and at other nearby hospitals enable a multidisciplinary approach to be at the heart of the Neurosurgical Unit’s work. Patients are referred to the Unit by their general practitioners, by other neurosurgeons in the UK or overseas, by consultants in related specialties such as neurology, ENT, rheumatology and orthopaedics, and by practitioners in other fields such as physiotherapy, osteopathy and chiropractic.
Neurosurgical treatment does not begin and end in the operating theatre. It may be that an unhurried, in-depth consultation, perhaps in conjunction with diagnostic tests, is all that is needed to provide reassurance.
Where further treatment is required, surgery may not be the only option. Alternatives may include referral to another service at The Wellington Hospital, for specialist pain relief, neurophysiotherapy or procedures such as interventional neuroradiology and gamma knife radiosurgery. Where surgery is the most or only appropriate treatment, the consultant can arrange for the operation to be performed without delay or, for less acute cases, at a mutually convenient time.
Anaesthetic services are provided by experienced specialist neuroanaesthetists. Post-operative care is provided by a five-bedded intensive care unit situated immediately adjacent to the theatre suite. Nine further ITU beds are available elsewhere in the hospital.
Patients who require further treatment after surgery can be referred to an appropriate specialist, either within The Wellington Hospital itself or at nearby teaching hospitals.