GWENT'S three biggest hospitals are seeking to transform the way their operating theatres are run, to make more efficient use of surgery time and boost patient care.

NHS Wales' Transforming Theatres programme will be introduced at the Royal Gwent, Nevill Hall and Caerphilly District Miners' Hospitals, focusing on a range of issues such as preparation of patients for operations, turnaround time between cases, effective handover to recovery wards after surgery, and management of theatre equipment.

Late starts and early finishes to theatre sessions ultimately mean fewer operations can be carried out, and maximising the time available is down factors such as the mix of cases listed for those sessions, and how quickly the theatre can be made ready for the next patient.

In Gwent, efforts to improve the use of theatre time have had mixed results. Aneurin Bevan Health Board recorded the lowest level of late starts to operating theatre sessions of any health board in Wales during 2010 - but though there has been a reduction in the level of early finishes to sessions, the potential for improvement is "significant" according to a recent board report.

Continued improvement on start and finish times is a priority for the health board, as is shortening turnaround times between operations.

The transforming Theatres programme wil build on the findings of England's Producitve Operating Theatre programme - where the emphasis is on building effective theatre teams, with strong leadership - and on the 1,000 Lives Plus project, through which the likes of new equipment and patient information checking procedures have been introduced.

Two operating theatres, including an orthopaedic theatre, are being used to pilot the programme in Gwent, but it will eventually be rolled out across theatres in all three hospitals.