MORE patients are set to get the chance to participate in the development of new live-saving treatments in Bradford, thanks to a £1.2million investment from the city's hospital trust.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said yesterday that construction of its extension at the Bradford Institute for Health Research (BIHR) was "well underway."

The new two-storey building will increase the size of the current research facility by 287sqm, and will house researchers alongside doctors and nurses, working together on the latest healthcare innovations.

Institute director, Professor John Wright, said: "Patients who get involved in clinical research trials tend to do better than patients in standard care.

"This may be because of the newer treatments, but it may also be related to the closer monitoring and care.

"We want all our patients in Bradford to be able to have access to this care and have invested £1.2 million to build a state-of-the-art facility that will provide high standards of facilities and comfort.

"From now on, when there is a new and potentially life-saving treatment developed, patients in Bradford should be the first in the UK to benefit."

The new extension will provide seven offices for around 27 staff, and the project will include the refurbishment of the BIHR’s existing clinical research facility to provide two new patient areas.

Bradford Teaching Hospitals’ chief executive, Professor Clive Kay, welcomed the investment and added: "Our work on improving healthcare through research is of vital importance to us, and the new extension will enable even more patients to participate in clinical studies and benefit from new treatments."

The trust, which is responsible for the running of Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) and St Luke's Hospital, has more than 50,000 members, making it the third largest in the country.

As teaching hospitals, the trust said it was "at the forefront of research, education and development in healthcare."

Its Ophthalmology department is home to numerous worldwide clinical trials taking the lead in eye care research, and the trust also offers pioneering robotic surgery with the use of its £2million da Vinci robot, which has trebled the number of prostate operations at BRI.

The trust is also the only centre in Yorkshire to offer this "revolutionary" procedure for all three urological cancers of the prostate, bladder and kidneys.

The BIHR is based at Temple Bank Lodge, situated within the grounds of BRI, and work on the new extension is expected to finish in January next year.