Welcome to Probus Surgical Centre

Probus Surgical Centre has been providing NHS specialist day case surgery under local anaesthetic in a primary healthcare setting since 1995. The centre, which undertakes approximately 4,000 procedures a year, is co-located with Probus Surgery near Truro offering a low-key, relaxed environment for surgical patients.

Patient care is paramount

The way we look after our patients reflects the centre’s ethos that patient care is our paramount consideration. Just because care is provided in a GP surgery setting, doesn't mean that the quality of care is sacrificed. The operations performed at Probus (and the satellite centres at Penzance and Liskeard) are low risk procedures which can be safely and effectively performed under local anaesthetic.

The Centre works closely with the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust and The Royal Cornwall Hospital NHS Trust to ensure that the development of services is appropriate and supportive of current health plans.

Our systems are flexible and our administration team will always endeavour to make appointments at a time and date to suit you.  The average referral to treatment time is between 6 to 8 weeks and all our services are available as directly bookable appointments through Choose and Book. Access is easy with plenty of free patient parking.  Disabled patients will find designated parking bays and easy access within our one-storey building.  The Centre is only approximately 8 miles away from either Truro or St Austell main line train stations and is also well served by local bus routes. 

Centre of Excellence

Innovation in primary care Mr Raj Dhumale and Dr John Tisdale, both of whom have won national awards for their innovation in primary care, lead the clinical team providing this pioneering service. In association with two further surgeons, Mr Guy Lin and Miss Rachael Tyers, and the surgical nursing team, they have enabled the appropriate transfer of a significant proportion of surgical work from secondary (hospital) care to primary care and now undertake 40% of the county’s local anaesthetic hernia operations as well as most carpal tunnel and vasectomy procedures. Other specialities include skin surgery and other hand surgery (such as trigger finger etc).

The quality of the service is monitored closely with high patient satisfaction, whilst the cost to the healthcare budgets in Cornwall is significantly less than elsewhere nationally. Please see the Audits & Evulation section for more information.

National Demonstration Site

In 2006 the national importance of this service was recognised by the Department of Health as a National Demonstration Site, as part of the Care Closer to Home initiative, headed by the (then) Health Minister, Lord Warner. The Probus site is one of only five selected across the country for general surgery.

“We are thrilled to have received this recognition of the services now provided at Probus” said Mr Dhumale, “..which is fantastic for the staff who work so hard to maintain our high standards with a friendly welcome. The service is really a win:win scenario where patients receive high quality care in a relaxed environment, while the healthcare economy in Cornwall pays a lower than average price for it."

Training for Primary Care Surgeons

We offer a range of training activities to support other centres around the country that wish to develop primary care surgical centres. Please see the Charged Services  guide for further information.

Referral Guidelines

We are happy to receive referrals for any of the procedures listed in the section below. 

Probus Surgical Centre is now directly bookable through Choose and Book, offering patients and their GP immediate access to available appointments, giving the patient the opportunity to select their preferred date, time, surgeon and location.

Transport

As all our surgery is performed as a day-case using local anaesthesia, it is essential that patients have transport to and from the centres.

Local Anaesthetic Suitability

Patient needs to be generally fit anough to undergo the proposed procedure under local anaesthetic.

Chronic Illness

Most patients with chronic stable medical conditions will be acceptable.

Warfarin

Patients on warfarin are also accepted as long as there is no barrier to stopping their anticoagulation therapy for a few days pre-operatively, although this is not always required.

Under 16s

We are unable to take referrals for children under 16 years of age.

Mental Health

We are unable to take referrals for patient with unstable psychiatric/anxiety states.

Allergies

Previous severe allergy to local anaesthetic agents would be a contra-indication and therefore we are unable to take referrals for those patients.

Disabilities/Access

Please include any special needs the patient may have in your referral letter so that we may make necessary preparation to meet their needs. Probus Surgical Centre and the sattelite centre at Morrab Surgery in Penzance are both wheelchair friendly.

Procedures

All procedures below are offered at Probus and our satellite centres at Oak Tree Surgery in Liskead and Morrab Surgery in Penzance except where indicated with * or ** (initial consultation and follow-up appointments for these exceptions can be provided at these centre but not the procedure itself).

Hands & Feet

Carpal tunnel injection / release   -->   Carpal tunnel information leaflet
Dupuytren's contracture / fasciectomy *   -->   Dupuytren's information leaflet
Ganglion   -->   Ganglion information leaflet
Toe nails (including Zadeks)
Trigger finger / thumb   -->   Trigger finger/thumb information leaflet

Hernia Repairs *

Groin hernia repairs   -->   Hernia repairs information leaflet
Abdominal wall hernia repairs

Genitalia

Hydrocele sac excision *
Circumcision *   -->   Circumcision information leaflet
Vasectomy **   -->   Vasectomy (Drs Tisdale & Lin)   Vasectomy (Mr Dhumale)

Ano-Rectal

Haemorrhoid injections *   -->   Haemorrhoid injections information leaflet

Dermatology **

Low risk BCC 1
Lipoma
Biopsies


* Procedure performed at Probus centre only
** Procedure performed at Probus and Penzance centres only, not available at Liskeard

1 Low risk BCC includes small superficial tumours at sites away from the central face and ears, and excludes BCC's with aggressive histology such as morphoeic BCC

We are committed to working with the Cornish health community to reduce the spread of hospital-based infections, including MRSA.  Probus Surgical Centre prides itself on its standards of hygiene and strict infection control procedures.

All patients attending Assessment Clinics are screened for MRSA if the need for an operation is reached. One stop patients (i.e. vasectomy and some hand surgery) are asked to make an appointment with their GP surgery practice nurse for MRSA screening. This information is sent out with the appointment letter. No operations are undertaken if the MRSA screening result has not been received, or a positive result has been received and the suppression therapy is not complete. No MRSA test means the operation will be postponed.

All referring practices can now claim through the locally enhanced services (LES) framework for MRSA testing for Probus Surgical Centre patients. 

For more information regarding MRSA screening, please read the leaflet MRSA Screening - What to Expect
Information on positive results can be found in MRSA Screening - A Positive Result

The Probus team are committed to providing a high quality of service in primary care.  It is our firm belief that low-risk operations performed under local anaesthetic can be effectively carried out in primary care settings such as that provided at Probus (and in our satellite centres at Liskeard and Penzance).  That is why Probus has an established programme of patient satisfaction surveys and procedures in place to record and act upon any patient's care which results in some form of complication or infection.  The following gives more information on these areas but if you would like to feedback any comments you may have of your personal experience of Probus Surgical Centre we would be delighted to hear from you.