Health Secretary Wes Streeting has praised staff at a specialist surgery unit at Trafford General Hospital for their work in driving down waiting lists for patients in Trafford and Manchester.
He spoke during a visit to the Trafford Elective Surgical Hub (TESH), which provides ‘routine’ surgery, such as hip and knee replacements, for patients. TESH is a standalone unit, so its teams do not deal with emergency cases, which can stop planned procedures from taking place as expected.
The work of the TESH team has played a key role in helping Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), which runs the hospital, improve its performance. MFT reduced waiting lists by 10.7 percent between December 2024 and December 2025, meaning that 21,500 patients fewer are now waiting for planned operations, the highest reduction in the North West.
A £13.8 million investment from the NHS Targeted Improvement Fund has enabled TESH to expand by adding two brand-new operating theatres, increasing the number of operations that the team can carry out each week from 200 to 240.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting said: “It was great to visit the Trafford Elective Surgical Hub today and see first-hand how investment is already translating into better care for patients. The two brand-new operating theatres are a clear example of how we are modernising the NHS to cut waiting lists and boost capacity.
“By creating specialist centres like this, we can protect planned operations from disruption and deliver record levels of elective care. That means more hip and knee replacements carried out faster, shorter waits for patients across Greater Manchester, and people getting back to living their lives sooner.
“These hubs also provide modern facilities for staff, helping surgical teams work more efficiently and focus on what they do best – delivering high-quality care. This is exactly how we are bringing waiting lists down: targeted investment, smarter use of resources, and backing our NHS staff to deliver for patients.”
Nationally, the NHS delivered more elective activity in 2025 than any other year in its history, helping cut the waiting list to its lowest level since February 2023.
Mark Cubbon, Chief Executive of MFT, said: “Reducing elective waiting times is a key priority for us at MFT and we were delighted to welcome the health secretary to the TESH.
“The hub carries out a range of routine procedures, ensuring people are seen as quickly as possible and enabling teams at our acute hospitals to focus on more complex cases. We introduced a surgical robot last year, which is supporting more precision surgery with faster recovery times. We have also started offering same-day hip and knee operations, which allow people to recover well at home without overnight hospital stays.
There remains much more to do to ensure every patient receives the timely and accessible care they deserve, first time. We look forward to building on this progress in the year ahead.”