THE boss of Hereford County Hospital says it has made the biggest step forward in the 20 years since it was built.

Glen Burley, the chief executive of the Wye Valley NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said the hospital now has an extra 18 beds thanks to three new wards.

Giving his annual report earlier this month, he said moving in the new three-ward block was "hugely significant and marked the biggest step forward in terms of bed provision since the current County Hospital was opened just over 20 years ago".

He did admit though that the new block took considerably longer to build and open than the trust had planned.

Those reasons included the coronavirus pandemic and the fact a serious fault with a sprinkler system led to major flooding of the new building.

The first patient were moved into the wards, which provide 72 beds, just before Christmas.

The new wards will primarily look after elderly and frail patients, he said.

He added: "This has been key to unlocking space on the existing wards to reconfigure them and make better use of our bed capacity.

"Feedback from patients and staff has been overwhelming positive as we can now care for some our most sick elderly patients in modern surroundings."

But the opening of the wards means the trust can demolish the last of the two remaining 1940s hutted wards.

Mr Burley said they had served their purpose for around 80 years, but "well-outlasted their welcome".

These will be demolished in the coming months and plans are already in place to build a new elective hub, funded through a successful £16.5 million bid to create additional theatres, including a new cataract suite, he said.

The money for the major change has come from the national Elective Recovery Fund.

"This is great news for our patients as the new elective surgical hub will allow us to greatly expand our theatre capacity and make real inroads into tackling our waiting lists," he said.

"There are a couple more buildings which have come into use which have also brought significant benefits to patients and have helped us to provide the kind of care we’d want for our friends and relatives, despite the pressures we are working under."