Bristol hospital already boasts worldwide reputation

An airline pilot flew in from Dubai to undergo surgery at a Bristol hospital.

Joseph O'Loughlin was the first patient to be operated on at the new £2 million operating theatre at the Spire Hospital in Redland.

Mr O'Loughlin was treated by neurosurgeon Professor Steven Gill, who also performed the opening of the theatre.

The new theatre at the private hospital, which is part of a £10.5 million extension, has created five specialist jobs.

Mr O'Loughlin, who works for Emirates Airlines, had suffered pain as a result of a prolapsed disc in his neck and required a keyhole procedure to repair damage.

He said: "My doctor said I needed an arthroscopy and recommended Prof Gill as the best surgeon for the procedure because there is no one of his calibre in Dubai, so I was happy to travel all this way to get the problem fixed."

Prof Gill said the new theatre will be a centre for major brain, heart, spinal and abdominal surgery, and he was pleased to open it.

He said: "It is a real pleasure to open the new theatre and to be working with a range of state-of-the-art features such as video-assisted laparoscopic stack systems, anaesthetic machines to ventilate patients during surgery, and the latest invasive heart and blood pressure monitoring equipment."

Hospital director Rob Anderson added: "This amounts to the creation of a new flagship hospital for the region and will cement and enhance our position as a national centre of excellence for cardiac, brain and spinal surgery, as well as improving the general environment for patients and staff."