The people of Bradford have the chance to find out more about their local hospitals at an open event being held at Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) on Wednesday,

September 14.

An action-packed programme of events has been planned including behind-the-scenes guided tours of the Foundation Trust’s new educational simulation centre and technical skills laboratory and interactive displays from different departments of the hospitals.

Chairman, David Richardson, said: "There’s been a real push within the organisation to make this year’s Open Event bigger and better than ever before.

“The free tours of our new training facilities will give patients and the public the opportunity to see our cutting edge simulation centre, which aims to give Bradford healthcare professionals the best training that the region and indeed the country has to offer.

“The Open Event is also a great chance for everyone to have a look behind the scenes, go on tours of the hospital and chat with staff about recent innovations, our future plans and the services we provide.”

A marquee in the grounds of the BRI will host the event, which takes place between 2-6pm, with those attending having the chance to meet staff from various departments and find out more about how the hospitals function.

Guided tours will take members of the public behind-the-scenes and give them the opportunity to see the new £730,000 innovative training facility at Field House which was opened in June by Professor Sir Christopher Edwards, Chairman of NHS Medical Education England. The centre, which is dedicated to teaching advanced surgical techniques across a range of specialties, enables healthcare professionals to train on life-like patient simulators which help teams hone their skills under controlled circumstances.

Visitors will also get the chance to view an operating theatre complete with ‘Big Brother’ cameras to give vital feedback to the teams on how they have performed during real-life scenarios. There is also a four-bed ward, a clinician’s consulting room, a seminar room equipped with six dental head simulators for the training of dentists and related staff, and a simulation centre where tomorrow’s surgeons can practice their laparoscopic surgical skills with the aid of audio-visual recording equipment which recreates the internal workings of the human body.

The public will also get information on the stroke and neurology inpatient service, the Pennine Breast Screening Service, bowel cancer screening, the patient advice and liaison service, the respiratory nursing team, diabetes and endocrinology, maternity and emergency planning.  

There will be a presentation stand on the landmark Enhancing the Healing Environment project which aims to transform dementia care for patients. The Foundation Trust is one of just 12 bodies throughout the UK to have secured a £50,000 grant from The King’s Fund to implement its Enhancing the Healing Environment Programme. The Foundation Trust has also contributed a further £15,000 towards the scheme which will transform the environment of wards 23 (orthopaedic trauma) and 29 (elderly care).

Also inside the marquee, display stands will include information on the SAFE! Campaign (the Foundation Trust’s patient safety initiative), community cardiac rehabilitation, PET-CT scanning, the heart failure nurse specialist service, St Luke’s adult outpatients, the pharmacy, the chaplaincy, operating theatres and infection prevention and control.

The Foundation Trust’s Annual General Meeting will be held beforehand, at 1pm, in the Sovereign Lecture Theatre. The public are welcome to attend the AGM.