A ground-breaking event took place at Bradford Royal Infirmary on Wednesday, 23 October, to mark the start of building work to create a new, state-of-the-art endoscopy unit which will provide more appointments for patients and reduce waiting lists.
Building the £25m endoscopy unit is a two-year project, due for completion in late 2025, which will see the introduction of an eight-roomed unit connected to the main hospital building.
It is one of the largest NHS schemes of its kind in the country, with most funding coming from NHS England, and the rest from Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Endoscopy is a non-surgical procedure to look inside the body to screen, diagnose and treat medical conditions. There are many types of endoscopies that view different organs.
Chief Operating Officer at the Trust, Saj Azeb, said:
The new unit has been designed specifically to meet the needs of our patients providing us with more capacity and a much-improved environment to provide the best possible care and service to our patients.
It’s just one of several exciting multi-million-pound developments taking place across our hospital sites. We’re investing in our estate to make Bradford Teaching Hospitals fit for the future with new advancements in patient care and an overall better experience for our patients and colleagues.
Consultant Gastroenterologist and Clinical Lead for Endoscopy, Sarah Jowett, said:
Our team are so excited to be developing an endoscopy unit which will provide the full range of endoscopic procedures in a brand new purpose-built space for Bradford patients.
The unit will be linked to the main hospital for inpatients but also allow outpatients to access the unit from the outside. It has been designed to allow separation of these patient pathways should there be a need in the future, such as another pandemic. The unit has been designed to enhance patient privacy and dignity with individualised ensuite rooms for before and after the procedures.
The new unit will allow us to improve patient and staff experience and additional endoscopy rooms have been added to the design to increase our capacity and reduce waiting times.
Jonathan Sizer, Regional Managing Director, Robertson Construction Yorkshire & East Midlands, said:
This endoscopy unit puts Bradford Teaching Hospitals at the forefront of patient care, creating a world class facility in West Yorkshire. The project is testament to the Trust’s commitment to patient care and service improvement, and as delivery partner of choice we’ll uphold those values in the build process.
We’re looking forward to developing our relationship with the Trust. With a long history of delivering high quality healthcare projects, a complex scheme like this plays very much to our strengths; delivering for the customer, working with the local community, and supporting the supply chain in the region.
