CAROL singers, schoolchildren and an MP were amongst the special guests for the official opening of new surgical complex at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

The town's MP Jenny Chapman joined children from Mowden Junior school for a tour around the unit which is part of the trust's £30m investment in the site.

Following the opening of six new state of the art theatres, bereavement suite and mortuary at the hospital 18 months ago, five of the existing theatres have been fully refurbished to the same standard as the new theatres – bringing the total to 11.

In addition, the development has created a new day surgery ward, admissions lounge, recovery bays, consultation rooms, changing facilities, staff room and offices.

Children from Mowden Junior school came along to sing carols at the start of the event then took a mini tour themselves

Consultant surgeon Andrew Mitchell, said: “This investment will make the world of difference to our patients. We already perform around 10,000 surgical procedures at Darlington each year, offering a wide range of surgeries from life-saving cancer treatments to procedures in a wide range of specialties, including orthopaedics, gynaecology, plastics, ophthalmology and general surgery.

"A total of five theatres at Darlington are now ‘clean air’ making them ideal for joint replacement surgeries. One of the theatres has been dedicated to performing eye procedures for which there is much demand and two of the theatres have integrated laparoscopic equipment which is what we use to perform keyhole procedures. In addition to planned surgeries, we’re also well prepared for those patients who require emergency surgery.”

Surgical matron, Sharon Farlow, added: “Clinical teams were closely involved in designing the new areas, making sure they would offer our patients the very best journey when in our care, from the moment they arrive in the new admissions lounge, then have their pre-operative consultation with the surgeon and anaesthetist. Everything has been planned to follow the journey the patient takes and the size of the spaces will create a sense of calm, even on the busiest days. The scale of the new theatres is quite breath-taking and we all really enjoy working in the new complex.”