Healthcare bosses have been advised to increase transport links over "genuine and significant" for patients needing to access a £34m orthopaedic centre.

Suffolk and North East Essex (SNEE) Integrated Care Board (ICB) will have a meeting next Tuesday to decide on the elective orthopaedic centre in Colchester. 

The proposal is to move 55% of the surgeries from West Suffolk Hospital to the new centre in north Essex and reduce wait times by four weeks.

The centre will open in the summer regardless of the decision taken on Tuesday and serve patients. 

The proposal is to move 60% of the surgeries away from Bury St Edmunds.The proposal is to move 55% of the surgeries away from Bury St Edmunds. (Image: PA)

However, in a survey conducted by Healthwatch Suffolk, many respondees raised concerns on travel. 

As a result, the healthcare watchdog has asked the ICB to find travel solutions and provide patients with more flexibility before approving the plans. 

In a report, they state: "Despite evidence of agreement with the proposals’ core benefits, the plans represent genuine and significant challenges for some people.

"If not addressed, this may lead to potential inequality of service access and, for some, the potential for missing out on surgery."

Of 2,218 people surveyed by Healthwatch Suffolk, 48 per cent responded positively to the plans, while around 35 per cent of respondees raised concerns.

Additionally, 59 per cent of those waiting for operations at West Suffolk Hospital responded positively to the plans. 

This biggest issue for many was transportation to Colchester from Bury St Edmunds. 

There are currently no direct public transport links between the two towns, with people having to switch trains in Ipswich - and the whole journey takes nearly 1hr 20mins.

This led to 12 per cent of respondents saying they did not know how they would get to the centre, and many of them said they would not have a lift home.

Healthwatch Suffolk has asked the board to expand non-emergency patient transport services between West Suffolk Hospital and the new centre.

The new centre will be the biggest in Europe.The new centre will be the largest in Europe. (Image: Newsquest)

If the plan to move the operations is accepted by the board on Tuesday, it will commence this summer. 

The original plan set out that the Colchester centre would contain six operating theatres and two wards, however on receiving further funding in July 2022, they expanded their plans to eight theatres and three wards. 

This would make it Europe's largest orthopaedic centre.