Ref. 26723-02The Great Western Hospital was today welcoming patients into its new Woodpecker Ward.

At twice the size of the current orthopaedic facility in Falcon Ward, staff are hoping the 36-bed ward will ease the pressure on beds throughout the hospital.

More patients will move in tomorrow and by the end of next week Woodpecker Ward will be a hive of activity.

Modern matron Carol Black, 37, said today's opening was an exciting development at the hospital.

"We are doubling the size of the ward which means double the number of staff are needed," she said. "It should mean the waiting lists for elective orthopaedic surgery, such as hip and knee replacements, will go down.

"We hope to get far more patients through the system quickly."

The ward, so-called to follow the theme of birds on level three of the hospital, comprises nine single rooms, a three-bedded bay and six four-bedded bays.

Some 40 staff, 25 of whom have been newly recruited, will look after patients. It also boasts a range of new equipment.

As in the rest of the hospital, each bed is fitted with a Patientline television and phone system, giving patients more choice about what they watch and when they watch it.

There are also plans to incorporate demonstrations of physiotherapy exercises for those who like to keep active while recuperating.

Every bay or room also includes an en suite toilet and shower and an upgraded nurse call system.

The ward was originally designated as an administration area but the Trust needed to find more beds to meet targets set in the NHS National Plan.

Work began on converting the space to a ward when the hospital opened in December last year.

The area had to be redesigned with special flooring and germ-proof wall coating, while complex systems such as bedside medical gases, computers and Patientline had to be installed.

Hospital spokesman Chris Birdsall said bed pressure would be further eased before the end of the year.

He said: "More beds will become available later in the year when Clover Ward, a 26-bed interim unit, opens.

"And in 2005 the 128-bed Diagnosis and Treatment Centre will open with five operating theatres providing a significant new facility for elective patients."

On Monday the Evening Adver-tiser reported how Michael Barnes spent 24 hours on a GWH trolley in crippling pain only to be sent home with painkillers.

He said the pain was so bad he could not move from a makeshift bed on his lounge floor. Mr Barnes lodged a formal complaint with Pals, the patient Advice and Liaison Service, after being made to 'feel a burden'. The hospital said on Monday it hoped Woodpecker Ward would ease the pressure leading to cases such as Mr Barnes's.