Plans to improve heart services and provide an extra intensive-care cot for poorly newborn babies have been unveiled.

Health bosses at Bradford Teaching Hospitals have laid down the blueprint for how local hospital services will be developed over the next 12 months.

The annual plan for 2004 to 2005 is the first to be produced since the Trust became a groundbreaking foundation hospital in April. The plan was discussed at a meeting of the board of governors, which was told it maximised the trust's new-found freedoms.

Key plans range from giving patients more choice about where and when they are treated to tackling diseases such as cancer and diabetes more effectively.

John Ryan, chairman of the Trust, which manages Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital, said: "The annual plan maps out the work for the next 12 months and is tied in with national guidelines as well as local priorities.

"One of the most challenging aspects will be to get an agreement with the primary care commissioners to get work undertaken."

He said the annual plan reflected the continuing success of the three-star trust, with initiatives planned such as the introduction of a second full-body MRI scanner and a new CT brain scanner, and meeting 2008 Government waiting list targets by the end of this financial year.

"There is a lot of work in the plan and we are continually asking staff to meet these targets and they continue to do so," he said.

"People are working flat out to improve patient care."

Key initiatives include:

l building the membership of the foundation trust to more than 2,500

l meeting tough financial challenges - initial estimates show there is a financial gap of around £3 million between budgets and available funding

l offering all patients booked appointments by March 2005

l the appointment of at least one new heart specialist and the launch of an angioplasty service in Bradford. The procedure to relieve angina and prevent heart attacks - which sees narrowed heart arteries reopened using an inflated balloon - is currently only provided in Leeds

l the development of cancer services for upper gastro-intestinal and urological patients

l improved care for stroke patients with the opening of dedicated beds for these patients at BRI to complement the stroke unit at St Luke's

l the appointment of an extra consultant for children along with a sixth intensive-care cot at the special care baby unit

l the Trust becoming a pilot site for the launch of a National Programme for Information Technology, which will revolutionise the hospitals' computer systems, giving doctors access to patient information wherever they are working in England

l investment to end split-site acute working, with all acutely ill patients being treated at BRI and the end of all Nightingale-style wards at BRI.

Malcolm Poad, director of planning and performance at the Trust, said: "We want this plan to continue the momentum that has been created over the past decade to improve hospital services for the community we serve as well as build a strong platform for taking forward new initiatives in the future."

The meeting elected Dr Marjorie Gardner as vice-chairman of the board of governors.

Dr Gardner, a voluntary sector worker, is the constituency governor for Bradford West.