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Specialist wards for elderly open at city hospital

Amy HolmesMilton Keynes political reporter
Amy Holmes/BBC A woman in navy medical scrubs stands in a hospital ward, wearing glasses and a name badge. The setting is clean and clinical, with the number “5” marked on the wall behind and a sink unit to the side. Through an open doorway, a reception desk with a sign reading “Welcome to Oak Ward B” is visible.Amy Holmes/BBC
Lead dementia nurse Janet Page said staff and patients on the new ward had already noticed the change

Two specialist 24-bed wards with a focus on frailty and dementia have opened at a city hospital.

The first patients have moved into the Oak Wards at Milton Keynes University Hospital as part of a major new inpatient facility on the site, which originally opened in 1984.

Hospital chief executive Joe Harrison said the new wards were "absolutely designed to look after our more frail and elderly patients".

He added: "These are 21st Century facilities with fantastic space designed to make sure our staff can best care for the people who are staying in our wards and make sure patients get the best possible experience."

Amy Holmes/BBC A man wearing glasses and a light patterned shirt stands in a hospital treatment area, with wall-mounted medical equipment, outlets, and tubing visible behind. The setting is clean and clinical, with neutral walls, safety rails, and equipment panels indicating a patient care space under bright overhead lighting.Amy Holmes/BBC
Chief executive Joe Harrison said a new imaging centre had also opened on site

The wards are part of a hospital development plan to reflect the predicted rise in the population of Milton Keynes - to more than 400,000 by 2050.

Other recent developments include the opening of a new imaging centre, as part of the trust's New Hospital Programme enabling works, and a new on‑site radiotherapy centre and multi‑storey car park.

Work on two new theatres is also under way, and an additional building featuring new maternity and children's services is expected by 2032.

Harrison said: "We know Milton Keynes is one of the fastest growing areas in the country, so our hospital has to keep pace with the demands of patients."

He confirmed that there was room on site to double the capacity of the new wards to a total of 96 beds in the future.

"Depending on the growth of our population, we will either build a new hospital first or the next set of Oak wards, but we'll take that decision in the next 18 months to two years," he added.

Amy Holmes/BBC A row of numbered hospital treatment bays (3, 4, and 5) lines a clean ward, each equipped with a blue chair, overbed table, medical outlets, and privacy curtains. Small cabinets and wall-mounted equipment sit between the stations under bright ceiling lighting, giving the space an orderly clinical appearance.Amy Holmes/BBC
Each bay on the Oak Ward is colour coded to help patients remember where they are, and has space for five beds instead of six, to give them more room

The rooms on each floor are colour coded to help patients remember which one they are staying in and there are five beds in each, instead of the usual six in the hospital, to allow more space for patients to get in and out of beds.

Lead dementia nurse Janet Page said the extra space meant "patients can walk around and have a bit more independence", adding that larger windows in each bay enabled patients to look at trees specially planted as part of the build.

There are also pictures on room doors to visually represent what is inside.

Page, who has worked at the hospital for 14 years, said: "Patients and staff have really noticed a change in a short amount of time.

"They're feeling the space. It's much more open - and staff are really appreciating that so I think we are moving in the right direction with the designs of our wards."

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