DIGGERS and workmen have moved onto the site of a new £3million facility on the grounds of Bradford Royal Infirmary.

The Wolfson Centre for Applied Healthcare will be part of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and will host the Centre for Ageing, one of the UK’s most successful research groups.

It brings together clinicians from Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with researchers from the universities of Bradford and Leeds, and has been made possible after the Wolfson Foundation donated £1 million.

Building equipment started working on the site yesterday and high profile figures from the NHS and education in Bradford were there to see the first shovel hit the ground.

The centre has been built to address three crucial areas in the health sector.

They are: a healthy childhood, healthy ageing and high quality and safe care.

The centre will examine how to reduce inequalities in the health and development of young people after a recent UNICEF report found the UK is lagging behind Europe in how it tackles the important measure.

The Wolfson Centre will also develop new models of care for frail elderly patients, those with dementia and those facing debilitating musculoskeletal conditions

Construction is expected to take around 10 months and is due to be completed in April 2019.

The centre will be up and running from May 2019.