Hirslanden opens new outpatient surgical centre “OPERA Bern”

Together with the three Bern Hirslanden hospitals, Beau-Site, Klinik Permanence and Salem-Spital, as well as Klinik Linde in Biel, the OPERA Bern is an integral part of the Hirslanden healthcare region of Bern. All plannable outpatient surgeries from the three Bern city hospitals which do not require an inpatient stay will be carried out at the OPERA Bern in the future. Medical advances now make it possible to carry out a wide range of standardised surgical procedures in the outpatient area without compromising on quality.

The processes, which have been tailored specifically to outpatient surgery, and the infrastructure of the centre ensure that patients receive high-quality outpatient surgery. Together with the established inpatient range of services of Hirslanden Bern as well as Klink Linde in the Biel-Seeland area, we are able to provide comprehensively integrated medical care for the population of Bern. Stéphan Studer, Chief Operating Officer of the Hirslanden Group, explains: “The opening of the outpatient surgical centre is line with the strategy of the Hirslanden Group: to offer top-quality healthcare that is efficiently integrated along the entire care and treatment path − from prevention to recovery, both on and outpatient and inpatient basis.”

Modern, future-oriented infrastructure

The new surgical centre contains two operating theatres with an intervention room as well as the requisite medical technology to carry out all outpatient surgeries. Moreover, patients have access to 11 beds and various waiting rooms and lounges. Patients with supplementary insurance for the outpatient area benefit from three private rooms, each with their own bathroom.

The OPERA Bern is available to all surgical specialties for doctors from the Hirslanden hospitals and from external practices. The modular, extendable infrastructure has been set up with future development in mind, so that up to 7,000 surgeries a year can be carried in the event of demand reaching this level. Future medical requirements are anticipated – for example, it will also be possible to carry out moderately complex surgeries, such as those undertaken on people who travel to other countries for medical procedures.

Perioperative safety is guaranteed through the same processes and tools as in inpatient surgeries, such as the surgical safety checklists, standardised OR schemas and analgesia concepts. The procedures before and after the surgery are clearly defined so that there is usually no waiting time before the procedure.

With the opening of the OPERA Bern under the management of Dr. Daniela Centazzo and under the operations management of Jan Mäder on 16 May 2022, the Hirslanden Group will have five outpatient surgical across Switzerland. “Our OPERA centres are renowned for their personalised atmosphere, combined with needs-based, compassionate, comprehensive care – before, during and after the surgery,” says Dr. Daniela Centazzo, Manager of the Outpatient Surgical Centres of the Hirslanden Group.

About Hirslanden

Hirslanden stands for high-quality, responsible, personalised and efficient, integrated healthcare. From birth to old age, from prevention to cure – any time, physically and digitally – the Hirslanden Group focuses, together with private and public cooperation partners, on the further development of the ‘‘Continuum of Care‘‘.

As a system provider, Hirslanden stands out from the rest of the market with first-class medical and service care – provided by highly qualified medical specialists with many years of experience. Interdisciplinary medical centres of expertise, specialised institutes and cooperation partners enable it to offer the best possible individualised diagnosis and treatment, even in highly complex cases, both for inpatients and outpatients.

The Hirslanden Group operates 17 hospitals in 10 cantons, many of which have an emergency department. It also operates 4 outpatient surgical units (5 units from 16.05.22 with the commissioning of the OPERA Bern), 18 radiology institutes and 5 radiotherapy institutes. The Group has 2,314 partner doctors and 10,711 employees, 479 of whom are permanently employed doctors. Hirslanden is the largest medical network in Switzerland. In the 2020/21 financial year, the Group generated a turnover of CHF 1,796 million (including CHF 12.6 million in cantonal COVID-19 compensation payments). As at 31 March 2021, the Group had treated 107,401 patients for a total of 461,004 inpatient days. In insurance terms, the patient mix consists of 51 % basic, 28.8 % semi-private, and 20.2 % private insured patients. The Hirslanden Group was formed in 1990 through the merger of several hospitals. Since 2007, it has been part of the international hospital group Mediclinic International plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange.