SOUTHEND Hospital plans to open a brand new £848,000 unit for urology patients.

The hospital is investing in the state-of-the-art facility for urology and pelvic floor patients as part of its continued commitment to improving cancer care.

This new unit, which is set to be completed and open to patients within the next six months, will be known as the urology and pelvic physiology unit.

Hospital bosses say the service has outgrown its accommodation, which has seen it work out of a portacabins.

Mr Sampi Mehta, consultant urological surgeon and clinical lead, said: “This isn’t just a step in the right direction for our patients and cancer services, it is a huge leap forward.

“Developing a urology and pelvic floor unit provides a fantastic opportunity to increase efficiency, improve patient flow and reduce waiting list pressures.”

The new unit will be located in the middle of the main hospital building in Prittlewell Chase so it will be easily accessible to patients.

It will make use of the old board room and the empty space behind it.

The hospital is a cancer centre for urology services, a surgical centre for complex renal cancers and provides a pelvic floor dysfunction unit for patients from across Essex.

The new, purpose-designed unit will provide additional outpatient space, treatment rooms and test facilities to increase the number of patients which can be treated and reduce waiting times.

It will increase the number of patients it sees as outpatients and provide extra space in theatres, meaning more patients can be seen and treated more quickly.

At the moment, patients who need assessment of pelvic floor disorders have to travel to London to access specialist equipment used for diagnosis.

The pelvic floor service provides a wide range of outpatient services, and brings experts together to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with pelvic floor problems.

Mr Mehta said: “Much of this can be achieved by delivering services through the ‘one-stop clinic’ environment and this vision can now become reality as the department is being designed to provide clinical treatment rooms as well as consulting rooms in one collocated area.

“In turn, this will provide the vital additional capacity required to meet the increasing demand for outpatient and day case procedures thereby enabling the service to achieve its referral to treatment targets.

“Most importantly this will enhance the quality of the patient environment and experience.”

It is an area that is expected to continue growing, given Southend urology’s Cancer Centre status and the increase in other work, such as stones and complex kidney cancer cases, now referred to Southend.

THE investment in the new unit comes as the hospital bids to retain its specialised urology cancer surgery.

Specialised urological cancer surgery is currently provided at both Southend and Colchester hospitals.

Under new guidelines from government body Nice, only one surgery unit is needed per one million people, meaning either Southend or Colchester will no longer offer the surgery.

Specialised urology surgery is complex open or keyhole surgery on the kidney, bladder, or prostate, as part of a patient’s treatment for cancer.

This only affects a small number of patients who require surgery.

Four surgeons at Southend Hospital currently carry out urological cancer surgery.

Between 2012 and 2014, 271 patients underwent the specialist surgery at Southend Hospital.

Nearly 700 people have backed the Echo’s campaign to keep the vital surgery in Southend.

Neil Rothnie, medical director at Southend Hospital, said: “It is essential we make it very clear to everyone who is concerned that Southend Hospital is not losing its cancer services or its urology services.

“The review that is under way refers only to specialist urology cancer surgery, and we are working with our partners at the clinical commissioning groups on our proposal to retain these services here at Southend.”

To sign the petition, visit change.org/p/national-nationalinstitute- for-health-and-care-excellence- save-southend-s-specialisturological- cancer-service