THE Lord Mayor of Bradford will today (February 9) officially re-open two of Bradford Royal Infirmary’s hospital wards which have been refurbished at a cost of £450,750.

Councillor John Godward and his wife Jean will tour the revamped wards and speak to patients and staff before unveiling a plaque to commemorate the event.

The renovation of the male and female surgical wards 8 & 11 are part of the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s continuing modernisation of the BRI site and the elimination of the hospital’s remaining Nightingale wards.

Trust chief executive, Miles Scott, said: “The feedback we’ve been receiving about the newly-revamped wards has been extremely positive and encouraging.

"Replacing outdated accommodation and equipment with the very best that we can offer is central to our plans and we’re determined to maintain this renovation work as we go forward into 2010.”

Ward 8’s refurbishment took seven weeks to complete and cost £175,750.
Improvements included a new kitchen, flooring, ceilings, blinds, electric sockets, lighting and a brand new nurse call facility.

New accessible radiator guards which can be cleaned easily will help in the trust’s fight to prevent infection. The trust also used money from the SHA to provide single sex washing & toilet facilities.

Ward 11’s improvements cost £275,000 and took 9 weeks to complete.

Along with the work listed above, all the floors were replaced and two full height partitions were installed to split the main ward into three bays to allow the ward to treat mixed sex patients. Each bay now has it own washing & toilet facilities.

Both wards were moved to the designated decant ward 9 for the duration of the refurbishment.

Speaking at the opening, matron of wards 8 and 11, Kath Priedavs, said:

“The refurbished wards are lighter, brighter and more modern and this has a very positive effect on staff, patients and visitors.

“Everything on the wards looks cleaner and tidier, we’ve better storage and the brand new facilities give patients more confidence 

“The refurbishment has also given us the opportunity to streamline storage, making it easier for the cleaners to clean which all helps in the fight against infection.”

In total £560,000 was allocated by the Strategic Health Authority to refurbish wards 6, 8 and 11. The Trust also invested some of its own money on these projects.

The new wards are the latest in a series of developments opened by the Foundation Trust in a period which has seen unprecedented investment.

Last year, initiatives included the opening of new maternity ultrasound department, a new Listening for Life centre - for people with hearing disorders - and the Sovereign Lecture Theatre.