AN opening day for the new £7.4million Clitheroe Community Hospital is set to be announced soon.

In January, NHS England said the project was on track to open in April.

A spokeswoman said it was ‘currently completing any remaining formalities’ before announcing the date. Work started on the two-storey, 4,050 sq metre project, which will feature 32 in-patient beds, in February last year.

The Chatburn Road site will also have a large patient lounge, plus a ‘love snug’ area, where patients can spend time with their relatives away from the ward. The new hospital is the first in East Lancashire not to have nursing stations, which will be replaced with mobile computers on wheels.

There will also be three physiotherapy teams, one occupational therapy team, special care dentistry treatment, diagnostic facilities, a new radiology department, and an expanded out-patient department with eight consulting rooms.

An NHS England spokeswoman said: “All of the partners involved are currently completing any remaining formalities with the project, so that a date for the opening of the new building can be announced “Our service to patients remains our primary concern, and we expect the transition of services to the new centre to begin very shortly. We would also like to reassure patients that they can continue to access the full range of services through the existing health centre site at Market Street until the move is completed.”