Thursday 02 May 2024
The staff at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust have chosen a name for the new ward under construction. By popular vote, they have opted for Imber, chosen as a tribute to the village taken over by the military to train American troops ahead of the Liberation of Europe in 1943, the same year as the US Army Field Hospital opened on Odstock Road.
This new £14m building will provide 24 additional beds in a state-of-the-art ward, incorporating a mixture of four-bed bays and side rooms, in which clinical teams have been heavily involved in designing. It will be an environmentally sustainable building. Imber Ward is scheduled to open in Spring 2024.
By providing extra bed capacity, Imber Ward will underpin the hospital’s elective recovery programme. The extra beds mean elderly care patients will be cared for in a dedicated space, in turn this will allow our surgical beds to be better utilised to deliver much-needed elective care such as day surgery.
Stacey Hunter, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust CEO, said: ”We are delighted with the progress being made in the construction of our new ward, and it’s great to have given it a name. Imber Ward will provide elderly care in a state-of-the-art modern environment, supporting the Trust’s elective recovery programme. The ward marks a major milestone in our Trust’s efforts to deliver the very best compassionate, effective care to our community.”
A ‘topping out’ ceremony celebrated the completion of the concrete frame of the building. This ceremony is a tradition generally practiced in the UK, Germany, Poland and the US. Construction partner BAM’s regional director, Anthony Nagle and the Trust’s Director of Estates, Brian Johnson, completed the ceremony by trowelling a section of concrete which will be cured (set) and incorporated within the building to mark this occasion.
In historic times the event would have included the placement of a tree sapling atop a new building to ward off tree-based spirits displaced during the construction. You can watch a video of the ceremony here:
25 October 2023
Our staff at Salisbury District Hospital have long been well regarded for the quality of care and treatment they provide for our patients and for their innovation, commitment and professionalism. This has been recognised in a wide range of achievements and it is reflected in our award of NHS Foundation Trust status. This is afforded to hospitals that provide the highest standards of care.
