Nick Aresti (trauma and orthopaedics), James Green (urology) and Funlayo Odejinmi (gynaecology) are the clinical leads for the 12-month pilot operational delivery networks to ensure more patients get swifter access to routines surgery across the trust's group of hospitals.

Simon Ashton, chief executive of Newham hospital, said: ‘Surgery saves lives but is also complex and risky. Surgeons perform at their best when they do large numbers of operations of the same sort in the same place. The scientific evidence shows that consolidating surgery in specialist centres means better outcomes, more consistent clinical standards, and shorter hospital stays.'

With support from the respective hospital chief executives and operational teams, each consultant will oversee efforts to make the most of the available capacity for each specialty across all the trust's hospitals, including sharing information and harmonising practices to achieve common standards so patients get the best possible treatment in the most appropriate place.

A key objective for each network is to find an effective and equitable cross-site way to manage the waiting list for that speciality and reduce variations. 

The orthopaedic clinical network is already leading the way by consolidating much routine day surgery for bones and joints at the Barts Health Orthopaedic Centre in Newham.