A NEW £1.2m state-of-the-art extension has officially opened at the Bradford Institute for Health Research giving patients more access to the very latest medical innovations.

Project bosses say the investment in its research infrastructure is a welcome boost because it shows how the Research Institute, based in the grounds of Bradford Royal Infirmary, has grown since it started back in 2007.

The new two-storey building at Temple Bank Lodge increases the size of the Institute’s current research facility by 287 m2 and will house researchers alongside doctors and nurses, all working together on the latest healthcare innovations.

The extension provides seven offices for about 27 staff and the project also included the refurbishment of the BIHR’s existing clinical research facility to make two new patient areas.

Clinical research plays a vital role in the work of the NHS as it gives patients access to the latest medical innovations, said Institute director Professor John Wright.

He added: “Patients who get involved in clinical research trials benefit personally and help to improve the standards of care for all future patients.

“We want all our patients in Bradford to be able to have access to this care and this new £1.2 million state-of-the-art facility will provide high standards of amenities and comfort.

“From now on, when there is a new and potentially life-saving treatment developed, patients in Bradford should be the first in the UK to benefit.”

The extension will house research staff from NHS Trusts in Bradford and academic staff from Bradford, Leeds and York universities.

On Friday, the contractors Walter West Builders Ltd and the architects on the project Bridger Carr handed the new extension back to the Institute whose staff moved in immediately.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals’ Medical Director, Dr Bryan Gill, said: “At BIHR there is a real passion and commitment to expand our work and maintain our already established position as a national leader in applied health research, a move that can only benefit patients as we develop new and cutting edge healthcare.”

In October last year Bradford secured a top place in a new league table charting hospital research studies across England.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network published its annual league table, revealing a five per cent increase in clinical research activity countrywide across the NHS.

And Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was in the top 25 with 174 studies listed for 2015 which is 24 more than 2014 and 47 more than in 2013.

Since 2013, the number of people in Bradford getting involved with research has also increased by almost 2,000 rising from 3,503 participants to 5,416.