Who we are and what we do

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for providing hospital services for the people of Bradford and communities across Yorkshire. We serve a core population of around 550,000 people and provide specialist services for some 1.1 million.

We employ over 7,000 members of staff who work over several sites, including Bradford Royal Infirmary, which provides the majority of inpatient services, and St Luke’s Hospital, which predominantly provides outpatient and rehabilitation services. We also provide a range of services from community sites at Westbourne Green, Westwood Park, Eccleshill, Skipton and the Bradford Macula Centre.

We became the first healthcare organisation in Europe to implement a Command Centre to transform patient flow in our hospitals. Our dedication to research and innovation remains strong. The Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR) continues to lead pioneering health studies, including Europe’s first clinical trial using injections to treat asthma and a groundbreaking study into whether better blood pressure management can reduce the risk of falls in older adults. Additionally, Bradford was awarded nearly £7m to set up one of 20 new Commercial Research Delivery Centres (CRDC) and will act as a regional hub for pioneering clinical trials, creating opportunities to test innovative new treatments with the latest equipment and technology.

In 2017, we also completed a £2m refurbishment of our Accident and Emergency Department as part of an ambitious vision to create a more efficient acute medicine service for the people of Bradford. It has been designed to provide a slicker and more efficient service, with faster senior clinical involvement at an early stage in the patient pathway.

As a teaching hospital, we are at the forefront of education and development in healthcare, and have an excellent reputation for research performance. We are one of the leading centres in conducting applied research in the country, particularly in quality and safety, elderly care and rehabilitation.

The Trust is home to the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR) where researchers have led the development, validation and implementation of the award-winning Bradford Electronic Frailty Index (eFI) which helps calculate an elderly person’s risk of disability, impairment, falls and complications of chronic diseases, as well as their diminishing independence and capability. This is now being used by 98% of all GPs across the country.

Our award-winning Ophthalmology Department is home to numerous worldwide clinical trials taking the lead in eye care research and we are one of only three sites in the United Kingdom to be enlisted in the Perioperative Enhanced Recovery Hip Fracture Care of Patients with Dementia (PERFECTED) study, which will investigate how the NHS can introduce better standards of care to improve outcomes for people with dementia.