Patients requiring hand and foot surgery in north Norfolk will now be able to access treatment closer to home as part of measures to restart services following the pandemic.

Cromer Hospital will see up to eight patients a week in the Muriel Thoms Day Procedure Unit, treating conditions such as Dupuytren’s disease, arthritis of the thumb and various foot conditions related to the bone and soft tissue.

Patients are required to self isolate for two weeks and test negative for coronavirus before the surgery.

Matt Keeling, deputy divisional operations director for surgery, said: “There has been a fantastic team effort to launch this new orthopaedic surgery service at Cromer. It is proving popular with our patients who receive the best of both worlds: A friendly local service at Cromer, plus expert care from surgeons and anaesthetists visiting from our main site in Norwich.

“We are delivering more treatment sessions for patients at Cromer now than we were before the pandemic.”

The hospital has also made changes to its phlebotomy services with an appointment system to avoid queues and minimise contact between patients.