7:50am Friday 12th March 2010
By Barbara Jordan
BURSTING with pride and passion, health chief Ann Marr unveiled her new £250 million Whiston Hospital.
Half the patients will have their own ensuite room, no ward has more than four beds, sharing two bathrooms, and everyone has a outside view.
The six-storey horseshoe-shaped hospital is light, spacious and boasts a Costa Coffee and a rooftop restaurant.
“I wanted to provide people with the absolute best the NHS could offer,” said Ms Marr, chief executive of St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
“I want every patient to have a good experience.
“Making the place bright means patients don’t feel they are in an institution.
“I wanted to reduce the fear factor and help their recovery.”
She spent three years planning the colossal project, meticulously designing 5,000 rooms down to positioning plugs and choosing bricks, curtains and paint.
Colourful artwork of the seaside, parks and animals, designed by students, brightens up the children’s wards.
Every floor has a different colour to prevent patients getting lost.
Everything in the cutting-edge design had to meet stringent infection control measures.
“We have finished six months ahead of schedule and come in on budget,” said Ms Marr, who was born at Whiston Hospital and lives in Widnes.
“We never cancelled a single appointment, procedure or operation on the basis of the work. I was determined to keep the site clean and infection free.
“We have the best infection precautions we could possibly have.
“I have enormous pride in this building. I wanted it to be constructed in brick so it would be something people could be proud of.”
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