Staff at The Bolton Centre for Urology welcomed Baroness Dido Harding, Chair of NHS Improvement this week, to officially open the new £4m urology unit.

The Bolton Centre for Urology, which accepted its first patients earlier this year, was moved from an older part of the hospital building to a new purpose built department near the Princess Anne Maternity Unit.

Baroness Dido Harding met with Trust officials and staff from the unit to view the high-quality facilities, and talk to the staff providing diagnostic and surgical services to patients from Bolton and the surrounding areas.

At the event on Thursday 12th September Baroness Harding was welcomed by Donna Hall, Chair and Jackie Bene, Chief Executive of Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, the organisation that runs the centre. She also met department heads Niamh Brockenshaw and Kayleigh Newton, who led the Baroness on a guided tour of the facilities.

The new department is arranged around a central reception area, with assessment, diagnostic and consultation rooms to one side of the building and the operating theatre and day case suite on the other side. At the furthest end of the building is a series of offices for the clinical and administrative staff. The new patient friendly facilities have been designed to improve patients’ experience, promoting safe and effective care that maintains privacy and dignity.

Chair of Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, Professor Donna Hall said:

“We were delighted to welcome Baroness Harding to open our brand new urology unit. Our urology facilities were in need of upgrading, as we knew that we could improve how we provided care for our patients. The new department has seen a significant investment by the Trust which we know is now of the standard our patients would expect. We’ve enjoyed hearing their feedback on what a difference it has made.”

Baroness Dido Harding, Chair of NHS Improvement said:

“It was my pleasure to open the new urology centre today and meet some of the wonderful patients and committed NHS staff who have worked together to design the new facilities. The new centre will help diagnose and treat hundreds of patients, enable the team to catch cancers and other illnesses earlier and save even more lives in Bolton.”

The group were joined by officials from Bolton Council and Bolton Clinical Commissioning Group.

Following the visit, staff old and new, patients and members of the public were invited to look round the department and meet the staff.