HEALTH bosses opened the doors to their Phase Five development in a bid to reassure people that it is being fully used.

The controversial £30million development at Burnley General Hospital was criticised when it first opened in 2006 for being left half-empty by surgical wards moving to Blackburn.

But now all the wards are full and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust is keen to show that it is being put to good use.

Planned orthopaedic surgery, which includes procedures like hip and knee replacements, moved into the building four months ago, and Ward Sister Andrea Warburton said she and her colleagues would be sad to leave when they return to the hospital’s Wilson Hey Unit in just over a year’s time.

She said: “The best thing about the modern wards like these is that we have so much space. It sounds like just a little thing, but having the room to store things out of the way is a really big help.

“We’ve got 14 cubicles and four four-bedded bays.”

Patient Colin Pinder, 71, of Bacup, was in one of the en-suite cubicles, recovering from a knee replacement operation. He said: “Everyone dreads going into hospital, but it’s not bad at all being in here – it’s a really nice little room, the meals have been great and the staff have been brilliant.”

Also new to Phase Five is the 28-bedded extended recovery unit, where patients who need extra time to recuperate from all kinds of operations get continued medical care.

And gynaecology wards on the top floors, which moved in earlier this year, will head downstairs when they are linked on to the planned new women’s unit.

Ward Matron Helen Donald said: “We weren’t sure what to expect from the move, but it’s fabulous – light and airy and a really nice place to be.

“When we are tacked on to the new unit, we will be able to work very closely with it.”

Martin Morgan, deputy estates manager at the trust, said: “There has been a myth that the Phase Five development is empty, but it was important for us to ensure that it is used, because it doesn’t make sense to have the best accommodation in the trust lying empty, especially as we have to keep paying back the PFI money, whether it is used or not.

“The new unit is going to be a huge asset to the people of East Lancashire, with the building designed so that ambulances can access it easily, and new theatres fitting in seamlessly with the wards we already have.”

Meanwhite the trust has now submitted its plans for Women’s and Newborns’ Unit, set to open in 2011, to Burnley Council, and demolition of some of the oldest parts of Burnley General Hospital to make way for the new building has already started.