HEALTH chiefs, public and staff were given a preview of a £2.5m world-class unit for assessing dementia patients at Bradford's Lynfield Mount Hospital.

The dementia assessment unit will take in the existing 16 patients from Ward 24 at Airedale General Hospital to its 22-bed home-from-home site from tomorrow.

A total of 34 staff, including 11 staff nurses, therapy support workers and an occupational therapist, will work at the unit after transferring from Airedale.

A reminiscence board is located by the door of each patient's room, where family and friends can put photographs from patient's past to make them feel more at home.

Ten large murals feature Bradford district sites including the Alhambra Theatre, Lister Park and Five Rise Locks in Bingley.

It also includes a quiet lounge for patients' families to relax and an activity room for patients to meet up and also to take part in one-to-one therapy sessions.

The dementia patients will come from across Bradford, Airedale and Craven to stay at the unit, which has been designed to meet their needs.

The unit had an open day yesterday where NHS staff and members of the public were given a sneaky peak at its facilities.

It was officially opened by designer Annie Pollock, director of landscape design and architecture at the University of Stirling's Dementia Services Development Centre.

The building is in a circular shape so none of the patients can get lost and also has wider corridors so they can have assistance from staff members.

The patients stay at the state-of-the-art unit for three months until they are given a relocation package to other sites, which may include nursing homes.

Allison Bingham, deputy director of specialist impatient services, who will oversee the site, said: "It's very exciting.

"We have even gone beyond the regulations for this. It is a 24/7 service here.

"Patients stay with us for three months and then receive support from nursing homes.

"It is three years since the consultation ende on the new unit. We visited other centres of excellence.

"It is a tremendously innovative unit.

"We have increased the number of beds at Airedale, which is 19, to 22 at Lynfield Mount."

Staff and carers were involved in choosing design plans and the unit, which was previously used by Lynfield Mount's older people's Duchy Court ward.

The female patients rooms are decorated in purple, while the male rooms are painted in green.

Each patients' bedroom door resembles a front door of a house to make their stay more comfortable, with traditional domestic hot and cold taps also used in each bathroom.

Jacquie Edwards, ward manager, says it is an exciting time for the Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, as the new unit opens its doors.

He said: "It's brilliant, it's a world class facility. I'm thrilled to bits that it has opened."