New £7m surgical unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary 'will mean a better experience for patients'

The acute surgical unit on wards 2 and 5 of Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI), part of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was opened by patient Hazel Risdon.

The unit houses a new surgical assessment unit with 15 cubicles, 26 acute surgical inpatient beds, a procedure room and a new surgical ambulatory area for up to 10 patients. It also has a new ‘hot’ clinic where recently discharged patients are reviewed within days of their hospital departure by consultant surgeons.

The project’s Clinical Lead, Consultant Gastro-Intestinal Surgeon and Deputy Operations Medical Director, James Halstead, said: "This exciting new development will help drive our transformation of acute surgical care for people in Bradford. Patients will benefit from these innovative facilities, enhanced assessments, integrated team working and shorter stays.

"The facility will also provide an enhanced healing environment, alongside quicker access to surgeons for patients coming into hospital from the trust’s A&E department by ensuring increased rapid assessment and treatment."

Trust Chief Executive, Professor Mel Pickup, said that the new unit was a key development in the aspirations of the trust, which also runs St Luke’s Hospital and the district’s community hospitals, to make all wards outstanding in their facilities.

Professor Pickup added: "Here at the trust I am really proud of the quality of the clinical care we give to our patients, but I am equally aware that with our current environment we are operating out of a hospital that is almost 100 years old and doesn’t always provide the best experiences for our patients.

"This new unit now gives us the highest-quality environment in which we can deliver the highest-quality clinical care."