Mary Creagh and Ed Balls Visit New Pinderfields Hospital

On Monday 14 June the new state-of-the-art Pinderfields Hospital opened to receive its first patients. To mark the occasion, local MPs Mary Creagh and Ed Balls visited the new facilities, where they met staff and patients. 

Their visit included the new Children's Centre, which has all outpatient services in one place. Young patients using the Centre also benefit from larger and more comfortable consulting rooms, a new sensory integration therapy room, new waiting rooms for teenagers and for younger children, as well as a breast-feeding room.

Mary and Ed also visited the new rehabilitation department for physiotherapy and occupational therapy where they saw the new hydro therapy pool, which provides specialist physiotherapy support for patient rehabilitation.

Ed and Mary met nurse Ann Brough (pictured on the right, next to Mary) who has worked at Pinderfields for 40 years, the last 25 of which have been in children's services. Also picured are senior sister Ann Taylor (left) and registered nurse Bronwyn Dickenson (centre).

Ann Brough said: "I have always really loved my job, but working in this modern, fresh new environment is going to be even more rewarding. The new children's services are all in one location and designed to be as child friendly as possible which is allowing us to provide an even better service for our patients. It's a really lovely feeling to be here."

Mary Creagh said: "It was a privelege to visit the newly-opened Pinderfields Hospital, to talk with staff and patients and to see for myself these excellent modern facilities. Staff will now be able to deliver world-class NHS treatment in a wonderful new hospital building. New facilities such as the Children's Centre are designed to allow the latest technologies and treatments to be delivered effectively."

"This new hospital represents the crowning achievement of the Labour government's investment in healthcare in Wakefield. The Labour government delivered the biggest hospital building programme the NHS has ever seen, with 118 new hospitals built since 1997."