A group of patients and GP practice staff enjoyed a tour of Airedale Hospital’s £2.4m new endoscopy unit.

It offers better facilities for patients including greater privacy and an extra procedure room so that more people can be treated.

The current unit carries out 9,000 procedures a year and this will increase by a third.

An official opening day is being planned for Saturday, October 5.

The unit has been rebuilt by Willmot Dixon and expanded to deal with the increase in demand for the service as a result of the national bowel screening programme – Airedale Hospital is one of the screening centres – and other awareness campaigns for bowel, bladder and lung cancers. From 2014 there will be an increase in demand due to a widening of the bowel cancer screening scheme called bowel scope allowing people aged 55 to take part, instead of being for those 60 to 74.

Julie Blackburn, sister on the endoscopy unit at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “All our visitors have been really impressed with the new unit and the state-of-the-art equipment.”