A NEW ward at Worcestershire Royal Hospital is now open with the first patients already being moved in.

The new 28-bed Avon 5 ward is connected by a bridge to the main building to make moving patients easier for staff.

Access to the ward, located on the second floor of Aconbury East comes via the new £3m link bridge which was opened on the same day.

A Worcestershire Acute Health Trust spokesman said the ward would help the hospital cope with increased winter pressures, saying: “We continue to work closely with our partners across the health and care system to manage winter pressures.

“Further additional bed capacity at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital and the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch will be in place in the coming weeks.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to all staff who have been involved in the development of both the bridge and the ward in the past weeks and months.

“These important developments form part of a comprehensive Winter Plan which will see more beds in place across the Trust in the coming weeks to help improve patient flow through our hospitals.”

The ward was opened on Wednesday, January 16 and the first patient was moved in on the same day.

John Smith, Worcestershire county council cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “We are always pleased to see more beds opening across the Worcestershire Acute Trust.

“Winter can mean an increase in pressure on our NHS services, the new Avon 5 ward at Worcestershire Royal Hospital is a real positive step to helping reduce this pressure over the winter period and into the future.”

In the same week that the new ward opened, Matthew Hopkins, chief executive of the Worcestershire Acute NHS Trust said they were doing all they could to cope with increased demands and waiting times.

This came after a Worcester resident complained about waiting times after seeing ambulances queued up outside the hospital.

Mr Hopkins said that additional bed capacity would be provided soon, with the Avon 5 ward opening in the same week.

Another Worcester resident praised the hospital for the care her husband received, despite him spending 12 hours on a trolley suffering from kidney stones.