DOUBLE Olympic gold medallist Alistair Brownlee performed the honours at the official opening of a new £8 million hospital unit.

The star triathlete was invited to cut the ribbon at the formal unveiling of Airedale’s acute assessment unit.

After the ceremony, he was given a guided tour of the facilities by Dr Adrian Kennedy – consultant in acute medicine – and Shaun Milburn, assistant director of operations for unplanned care.

The 48-bed unit caters for patients arriving directly from the adjacent Emergency Department and those referred by GPs for urgent care.

Following an initial assessment, patients are either treated on the unit and discharged or admitted to a specialist ward.

The aim is to ease patient flows, cut waiting times and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.

Features of the unit include large patient-privacy screens with digital photography to provide a calming atmosphere, and en-suite facilities in all single rooms and bedded bays.

Thanks to a £60,000 donation from the Friends of Airedale charity, there is also the latest in ward and bedside furniture, patient TVs and items such as reversible mirrors, which are designed to minimise distress associated with reflections for patients with dementia.

And the donation has allowed staff to buy the latest ophthalmoscopes for eye examinations and thermometers to help in the early diagnosis of sepsis.

Mr Milburn said the unit was already proving a huge success.

“It is a fantastic facility for our patients and staff and I am really proud of the way medical and surgical teams have combined to make the new unit a success,” he added.

“By putting acute assessments for medical, surgical and ambulatory care patients into one unit, we are already seeing some early improvements in easing patient flow and cutting waiting times for diagnostics, pharmacy, therapy and clinical decision making.

“It is an excellent example of how NHS staff from all areas of the hospital work together to improve the care and experience for our patients.”

Work on the unit was carried out by Airedale NHS Foundation Trust’s construction partner, Integrated Health Projects.