News

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 miliary 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 led to open in Spring 2024.

Paediatric Consultant Dr Chris Anderson won this year’s Patient Experience Award. This award is chosen by members of the community and was presented at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust’s Staff Awards ceremony, held last week. He won the award for often going above and beyond, and his ability to effortlessly coordinate with his team whilst maintaining the dignity of and respect for his patients. This is a special award with nominations from patients and other members of the public for hospital staff who have made a significant impact upon improving the patient experience, either for an individual patient in their work department or for the wider Trust.

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who came to our recent Open Day! Our teams loved meeting you and are grateful that we had such a great turnout on such a soggy day. We hope you had fun, saw things you wouldn't normally see and learned a bit more about what we do. Visit our Events page to view a video with some of the highlights and learn more about the event.

On this date in 1948, the National Health Service began, so today we are celebrating the momentous occasion of its 75th birthday.  Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust CEO Stacey Hunter said, "Having worked for the NHS for 36 years, I remain exceptionally proud of everything our colleagues deliver for patients. The NHS is all about the people who work in it, who choose to dedicate their time and expertise to support our communities at some of their happiest times, but also in some of their most difficult times. It has been a challenging few years, but despite this, our teams continue to give their best, and every single week people write to me to tell me of the fantastic care and support they have received in our hospital. I wouldn’t want to work anywhere other than in the NHS, upholding the principle of care free at the point of need for everyone, and I look forward to it continuing to thrive for the next 75 years. It is one of the finest institutions in our country."

The special service being held by Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust and Salisbury Cathedral to mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS and 80 years since the US Army opened a hospital in Odstock on 26th June at 5:30pm will include a reading of a commissioned work by playwright Paula B Stanic. Paula’s work was featured at the ‘We Reflect’ service held at the Cathedral in March 2022. Everyone is welcome to attend. In creating this piece, Paula was particularly interested in the volunteers who work in different roles around the hospital, including Odstock Radio which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Paula is pictured above.