Saving lives, saving time
Super Theatre Appeal
- High-tech equipment
- More life-saving surgery
- Faster recovery times
Make a quick donation to the Super Theatre Appeal
Giving £5, £10, £20 or even £50 will help us fund the theatre.
We're raising money to cover the cost of specialist equipment for a new ‘Super Theatre’ being built at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (RD&E).
The new state-of-the-art operating theatre will enable the hospital to treat around 1,200 extra patients a year in Devon.
Ultra-modern equipment will mean fewer procedures, reduced risk of complications, faster recovery times after surgery, and less time in hospital. It will be a game-changer and help us deliver the kind of modern care that we want to give to our patients.
The NHS is facing significant challenges with waiting times and once the new theatre is up and running, it will free up space in the RD&E’s existing 10 theatres. This will help reduce waiting times for everyone, including cancer patients.
With a fundraising target of £1.4m our Super Theatre Appeal is one of our biggest-ever fundraising initiatives.
The new theatre will be a game-changer and help us deliver the kind of modern care that we want to give to our patients
What is a Super Theatre?
- This is an ultra-modern operating theatre combining a state-of-the-art surgical workspace with the latest medical imaging equipment.
- The high-tech equipment will allow clinicians to perform complex surgical procedures and diagnostic imaging at the same time.
What are the benefits to patients?
- The new theatre will ensure patients in Devon who need specialist surgery for aneurysms, blood clots and diseases of the arteries can get their operations more quickly.
- It will reduce the need for open surgery and multiple procedures.
- There will be a reduced risk of complications and faster recovery times after surgery, meaning less time in hospital.
- It will reduce the need for patients to travel out of area for complex procedures.
- An additional theatre at the RD&E will free up capacity in the hospital’s other theatres. It means the hospital will be able to treat around 1,200 extra patients a year in Devon, reducing waiting times for everyone, including cancer and urgent surgery patients.
- This state-of-the-art theatre will help the hospital attract and retain the best surgical staff.
How can you support our Super Theatre Appeal?
- Donate directly to the appeal.
- Take part in a fundraising event. From bake sales to running a marathon. No idea is too big or too small. Check out our fundraising tips and get started here
- Follow us on social media so friends and families can support us too.
- Write a forever thank you by leaving a gift in your will.
- Donating in memory of a loved one or giving in celebration of a special event.
- Encourage your employer and colleagues to get involved as a charity partner.
Every donation, large and small, has the potential to transform lives. Thank you.
For more information about this appeal or for more ways to get involved, please get in touch with the Royal Devon Hospitals Charity fundraising team. We’d love to hear from you
Help us reach our Super Theatre Appeal goal!
Every penny you are able to donate will take us a step closer to our target and help deliver an ultra-modern operating theatre at the RD&E. Together, we can help the hospital provide an enhanced level of care and ensure more patients in Devon get their operations more quickly. Thank you.
Super Theatre Frequently Asked Questions
This type of advanced surgical theatre is known as a hybrid operating theatre. By combining a state-of-the-art surgical workspace with the latest medical imaging equipment, it will allow clinicians to perform complex surgical procedures and diagnostic imaging at the same time.
The new theatre is being built above the new Emergency Department at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (Wonford). Work started in summer 2024 and we expect the theatre to be ready to open in early 2026.
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has secured £5.1m of NHS capital funds for the new operating theatre, but this did not quite cover the entire costs, so Royal Devon Hospitals Charity is raising £1.4m to fund the cost the specialist equipment for the theatre.
Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust clinical leaders agreed that rather than build another generic theatre, the benefits of a state-of-the-art hybrid theatre were far greater in terms of meeting patient need, reducing waiting lists and improving patient outcomes.
The theatre equipment could not be afforded within the Trust’s annual capital allocation. This enhanced care service is over and above that which the NHS is funded to provide.
For those patients whose arteries and veins need treatment, and who are at risk from blood clots, surgery can sometimes too high risk to attempt. A hybrid theatre will reduce the need for open surgery and multiple procedures. Surgery is minimally invasive which means it has a lower risk of complications and faster recovery times after surgery, meaning less time in hospital. The new theatre will also reduce the need for patients to travel out of area for complex procedures.
Any donations towards the Super Theatre Appeal will go directly to that appeal. If for any unforeseen reason, we are unable to fund this project, or there are surplus funds left over, we will ensure donations are used to do brilliant things at our hospitals, wherever the need is greatest.
You can track the progress of an appeal in a number of different ways. We’ll be regularly updating the appeal pages on our website, and you can also check the latest fundraising tally on the appeal donation pages. Look out for appeal update stories in our news section, and on our social media too! And don’t forget to join our mailing list to stay up-to-date with any major appeal landmarks and all the latest Royal Devon Hospitals Charity news.
Before the confetti even settles, we’ll be spreading news of your collective awesomeness far and wide! We’ll ensure the money is used for its intended purpose and will check in from time to time to show supporters how the new operating theatre is making a difference to patients. If for any unforeseen reason, we are unable to fund this theatre, or there are surplus funds left over, we will ensure donations are used to do brilliant things at our hospitals, wherever the need is greatest.