BOSSES at Great Western Hospital were today handed the keys to a new £30 million treatment centre.

Developers Carillion Services which also built the flagship hospital in Swindon in 2002 are now putting the finishing touches to the Brunel NHS Treatment Centre.

Around 5,500 patients will be treated there every year helping to ease pressure on stretched wards in the main hospital.

The building is sited next to the accident and emergency department and has 128 beds, five operating theatres and three wards.

And it will be used for elective surgery like hip replacements and cataract treatment.

In the past wards normally reserved for such treatment have been used for emergency operations during busy periods.

But Trevor Payne, director of estates and facilities, says Swindon residents can look forward to not having cancellation cards drop through their letterboxes.

"This will have huge advantages for the whole of GWH," he said.

"Everyone involved in this project has worked extremely hard to create a fantastic clinical environment, which is not typical of all hospitals.

"We recognise that patients are nervous when they come in for treatment. So we have moved away from the old clinical white colour schemes and introduced colour wherever possible."

Before Christmas, junior health minister Rosie Winterton visited GWH to see for herself improvements that are being made.

She praised the work and said Swindon could be proud of its hospital.

Today Neil Sutherland, facilities manager for Carillion Services, echoed those comments.

He said: "This is a very high quality building and we have brought the very latest in hospital engineering to this project.

"We expect a smooth transition to Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust.

"Originally we expected the first patients to walk through the door in the summer so we are four months ahead of schedule."

The Evening Advertiser was shown one of the state-of-the-art operating theatres and the L-shaped recovery room, which has space for 19 patients.

Although beds have yet to be placed in the wards, major pieces of equipment, like the operating lamps and an easy-access bath have been fitted.

Infection control is something that has been taken very seriously, said Mr Sutherland.

Flooring merges with the walls and surfaces are easy clean.

Anti-bacterial gels, to minimise the risk of the hospital superbug MRSA, are dotted around wards.

Carillion Services has pumped £24 million into the centre while the Government has pledged the remainder.

Kevin Shoesmith