New Ward Opens For Elderly Patients At Salisbury District Hospital

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust has begun admitting the first patients into its new Imber Ward, which is housed in the Elizabeth building, named in honour of the late Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

This new £14m building provides 24 additional beds in a state-of-the-art ward, incorporating a mixture of four-bed bays and side rooms.

By providing extra bed capacity, Imber Ward underpins the hospital's elective recovery programme. The extra beds mean elderly care patients can be cared for in a dedicated space, which in turn, allows the hospital's surgical beds to be better utilised to deliver much-needed elective care such as day surgery.

It is an environmentally sustainable building, built with solar panels, low-carbon concrete, and heat pumps, so there is no fossil fuel used. There is also thermal insultation.

Lisa Thomas, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust Interim CEO, said: "We are very pleased to have built and opened our new ward, which provides elderly care in a state-of-the-art modern environment. Importantly, the new ward supports the Trust's elective recovery programme, and marks a major milestone in our efforts to deliver the very best compassionate, effective care to our community, while improving our sustainability."

The equipping and furnishing of the new ward has been supported by the Stars Appeal, Salisbury District Hospital's Charity. The charity provided £600,000 for equipment, including the latest patient monitoring system, furnishings and artwork to create a state-of-the-art, dementia-friendly space with an enhanced environment benefiting patients, their families and staff.

Much of the Stars Appeal funding has been made possible thanks to the legacy gifts of those who have so kindly remembered the charity in their Wills. Supporters of the charity were recently invited to a special private view of the Ward prior to it opening to patients.

President of the Stars Appeal, the Earl of Pembroke, said: "Imber Ward is another fantastic example of the difference that the Stars Appeal makes at Salisbury District Hospital, which is only possible thanks to donations, fundraising and, especially with this project, those who so kindly remember the charity in their Wills. I thank everyone who supports the Stars Appeal for their generosity in making projects like this possible."

Registered Charity No. 1052284

Posted: 22 July, 2024