IT was two years late but finally the curtain was drawn back at the official opening of the Orange Day Surgery Centre in McLachlan Street yesterday.
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Already the surgery is doing 2000 procedures a year but Dr Hugh Lukins believes there is potential to increase that number.
"It is day surgery and they are reasonably short operations and people can recover from them quickly. So it is reasonably high volume," he said.
Dr Lukins said the high volume procedures included eye surgery, diagnostics, gastrointestinal scopes and skin cancer treatments.
"It is straight forward things where people can go home safely the same day," he said.
The centre has two theatres but they rarely operate in tandem.
Dr Lukins said while the centre was a private facility there was potential to pick up some of the Orange Base Hospital waiting list.
"Some of the waiting lists up at the Base are so long they are interested in contracting some of work down here. That is a political potato; should we be doing the work or whether the public hospital services should be expanded? We are available to do the work," he said.
The centre is owned and operated by surgeon Dr William Mackie who has consulting rooms within the facility.
Other unit holders are Dr Lukins, a general surgeon, ophthalmologist Dr Basil Crayford, general and colorectal surgeon Dr Andrew Gilmore and urologist Dr Tim Nicholson.
The opening was marked by a deal between the centre and MBF.
"Until now MBF had given their members a restricted benefit meaning they have had to cover a gap to come here," he said.
MBF members using the centre will now be fully covered.
