A new 40-bed ward has been opened at the St James-based Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), which the management said should greatly help to reduce overcrowding at the facility.

Space for the new ward came with the relocation of the renal dialysis unit from the west wing of the seventh floor, which has been renovated and equipped at a cost of more than $20 million.

A number of patients who previously occupied the sixth floor have been relocated to the new ward.

Acting chief executive officer at the CRH, Denise Forsythe, said all the beds in the new ward should be occupied in the next few days.

The new ward, she said, will have a positive impact on patients, who are usually accommodated in less than ideal conditions in the accident and Emergency (A&E) Department.

According to Forsythe, along with strategies being implemented to reduce patient waiting time in A&E, “this (new ward) is a major step in our relentless effort to further improve the quality of healthcare offered at Cornwall Regional”.

Opening of the new ward has also been welcomed by CRH director of nursing services, Matron Gillian Legister. She said opening of the new ward is timely as “the hospital was seeing many medical patients at this time. I am sure it will be of significant benefit to our patients and we want to ensure that we have a very good environment for them,” she said.

The National Health Fund (NHF) played a pivotal role in funding restoration and equipping the new female ward with beds, trolleys, examination couch, cardiac monitors and other vital equipment.