Nearly 10 years after being given political approval, the first part of North Staffordshire's superhospital is finally here. It may not directly treat patients but without it, local medical care would grind to a halt. Here, Dave Blackhurst takes a glimpse behind the scenes of the department which enables thousands to have surgery safely

THE BIGGEST surgical laundry in the West Midlands just got three times bigger, providing a spectacular glimpse of things to come in North Staffordshire's health care.

Yet those who benefit from its products are normally fast asleep at the time and only know about it when they wake up to a new lease of life.

That would be impossible without the work of the central sterile supplies department at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, which makes sure that a staggering 370,000 surgical instruments a year are clean enough to be used on patients – and that means biologically spotless.

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The department is such a vital cog in local medicine that without it, the whole of the fifth biggest hospital in the UK would grind to a halt within 48 hours.

So, it is fitting that the unit – so often taken for granted as being behind the scenes – has made history by becoming the first building of the area's long-awaited £400 superhospital to open.

The department, with its 117 staff, has moved from the cramped surroundings of the past 18 years into a new centre on the City General site, with state-of-the-art equipment to rival any in Europe.

Costing the best part of £25 million, it's a conveyor belt of 1,000-plus instruments a day, arriving caked in blood from the complex's 25 theatres but ready to be thrust back into the hands of surgeons less than five hours later.

That turnaround is achieved by nine washers which give them a 90°C soaking in special detergent and then five autoclaves, which train pressured steam at 134°C degrees on to the instruments.

But that's just the half of it, as the staff work round the clock in three shifts to make sure that the instruments are all in working order and that none are missing from the trays which are delivered to theatres several times a day.

Some of this work is computerised but it all needs to be overseen by the human touch, as any mistakes could have appalling consequences for patients.

Everything from saws, drills and mallets used to replace knee and hip joints to the tiniest cutting tools for eye and brain surgery all take the same route through the system.

Operations needed by some patients are so complicated and time-consuming that they can each require 1,000 instruments while others are routine enough to need just a handful from the standard tray of 50 items – which all need sterilising again, whether used or not.

At the other end of the scale, the department services instruments used by North Staffordshire's 250 GPs in minor surgery, such as removing lumps and bumps, as well as those from smaller hospitals such as the Haywood at Burslem and Leek Moorlands.

Team leader Gill Birch said: "This is fascinating work and without it, the hospital would cease to function.

And even though they count on us doing a good job, we rarely get the surgeons in here to see what we do and we feel taken for granted at times.

"Our new building is fantastic and we have three times more space, with everything so much more user-friendly for staff. We are proud to be part of the very first move towards the new hospital."

Operator Christine Mellor, from Northwood, broke off from cleaning keyhole surgery instruments to say: "It was a bit sad to leave the old building we were used to, but this place is brilliant and we feel we are making history."

Colleague Barbara Washington, of Packmoor, added: "We may be working on instruments and not people but it is always at the forefront of our minds that these will be used in patients and for all we know, they could include our own loved ones."

The next parts of the new hospital to open will be the cancer and maternity centres, arriving next summer.

Sterile Services manager Debbie Barker said: "After all the years of planning and talking, the public can now see the hospital is finally taking shape."