Julian recently met with Foluke Ajayi, Chief Executive of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, to find out how the plans for the rebuild of Airedale Hospital are progressing.
In May, it was announced that Airedale was the latest addition to the Government’s New Hospital Programme, backed by over £20 billion of investment in hospital infrastructure. Work is now underway on a new, state-of-the-art, five-hundred-bed hospital, to be completed by 2030.
Additional funding was released this year for the Trust to start the enabling works necessary to prepare the site for construction.
Alongside this, extensive refurbishments are taking place at the current site to mitigate the risks from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which makes up 83 per cent of the hospitals planks – the most of any NHS site.
Julian received an update from Foluke about the plans for the new hospital and the progress that is being made, before touring some of the wards being renovated due to the widespread presence of RAAC.
Julian Smith said, “It was really useful to meet with Foluke and get an update on the progress of the new hospital.
“Airedale’s inclusion in the New Hospital Programme is a massive win for residents across the Craven-area. Patients deserve access to exceptional care and our fantastic doctors, nurses and NHS staff deserve to work in a world-class environment.
“Given the widespread presence of RAAC at Airedale, the need to get on with delivering this new hospital has never been more apparent. I am really grateful to Richard Burgin for showing me around and for highlighting the extraordinary steps he and his team are taking to mitigate both the very real risk of RAAC and the impact this subsequently has on patient care.”
