A radical shake up of the NHS will provide doctors and nurses with more power to improve services, according to Health Minister Alan Milburn.

Mr Milburn made the claim on a visit to Airedale Hospital last Friday, to see the improvements made in two key areas of the hospital.

He said that the Government's new proposals to shift resources and decision making powers from Whitehall to frontline staff, in a bid to cut down bureaucracy, would lead to more initiatives, such as Airedale's new assessment ward.

The minister met patients and staff on Ward 15, which has been transformed with £440,000 of modernisation funding into a patient assessment ward.

He was also taken around the Steeton hospital's accident and emergency department, which has been improved with £300,000 of funding.

Mr Milburn said: "It's very important that doctors, nurses and staff who do a really good job get to ensure that the money and power is drawn to the front line.

"Part of the reason why Ward 15 has been such a success is down to the staff."

Mr Milburn was full of praise for the work carried out by staff at Airedale, which led to it gaining a place in the top ten performing hospitals in the country in the Sunday Times' Good Hospital Guide.

Mr Milburn said: "Airedale has a very good reputation as a first class hospital and it's been a pleasure to see staff providing a really good service for patients. It's also been pleasing to see that staff, working under very real pressures, are making improvements to services and keeping up with the changing demands on the health service."

Chief executive Robert Allen said: "The trust is delighted that Mr Milburn has agreed to pay a goodwill visit to Airedale in light of the recent Sunday Times Good Hospital Guide.

"The trust's success against this and other indicators of performance is due to many factors. Among them are internal teamwork and good partnership working with primary care."

Also present for Mr Milburn's visit was Keighley MP Ann Cryer, Shipley MP Chris Leslie, Dr Maggie Helliwell, chairman of the professional executive committee for Airedale Primary Care Trust and Dr Julian Allen, chairman of Craven Primary Care Group.