PATIENTS requiring cataract surgery will face shorter waits for the sight restoring operation due to a new style of operating theatre, the first of its kind in the UK.

A dedicated opthamology centre is due to open at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank in 2020, which is expected to significantly increase the number of procedures carried out.

The unit will house six adjoining twin theatres, which will allow nurses to prepare a patient for surgery while another is undergoing the procedure, allowing consultants to move to the second patient directly after the first.

The hospital already carries out 18 per cent of all cataract surgery in Scotland – an area of high demand due to the increasing elderly population.

Cataract surgery involves replacing the cloudy lens inside the eye with an artificial one.

It is the most common operation performed in the UK and has a high success rate in improving sight.

It takes between four and six weeks to fully recover from the cataract surgery.

The unit is part of a multi-million pound expansion at the hospital which takes patients from all over Scotland. The full business case was approved yesterday by the Scottish Government.

Susan Mclaughlin, a senior theatre nurse, said: “The cataract surgery will be same as we do now.

“What’s different is the model of theatre, that is going to help.

“The twin theatres will allow surgeons to scrub up in a shared facility that links the two. Rather than having to leave to go to another theatre and nursing staff can prepare the patients.”

The second phase of the expansion will also increase capacity for general surgery and is expected to begin seeing patients from 2021.

Jean Freeman, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, said: “This significant step forward will help us treat more patients than ever before, which is very positive news.”