• Thousands of people across Bolton received life-saving and life-changing care through NHS in 2024
• New figures reveal 5,000 babies were born and 133,000 people attended the Emergency Department
• The Trust opened new theatres and a Community Diagnostic Centre to improve access to care

Hundreds of thousands of people across Bolton’s communities have received life-saving and life-changing care thanks to the hard work and dedication of staff at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

Despite another busy and challenging year for the NHS with increasing demand, the latest figures for 2024 in Bolton reveal the impact of local healthcare services.

8.6 million tests have been carried out to help diagnose a wide-range of conditions, 5,000 babies were born in Royal Bolton Hospital’s maternity department, and approximately 7,000 children have received support from the 0-19’s public health team each month this year.

The Trust’s workforce of nearly 7,000 staff, working at the hospital and community sites, have also:

• Prepared 20,559 discharge prescriptions and 49,226 prescriptions for outpatients
• Supported and treated 904 patients for HIV
• Treated 7,313 patients for a sexually transmitted disease
• Recorded 133,841 attendances in the Emergency Department
• Discharged 2,071 patients home safely with a full package of care
• Carried out 18,386 surgeries in theatres

Figures also reveal the Trust supported more than 80,000 inpatient and day case attendances and 548,732 outpatient attendances.

Rae Wheatcroft, Chief Operating Officer at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said:

Many of us will be feeling reflective as we near the end of 2024, and it fills me with pride as we look back at some of the amazing work that has taken place during the past twelve months.

“There is no doubt about the demand we continue to face and these numbers offer a small glimpse into how the work of our staff is making a positive difference to the health and wellbeing of people living in and around Bolton.

“Our staff, whether they work at the hospital or in our communities, work with compassion and dedication to provide the best possible care to each and every person who use our services.

New spaces to improve access to care

Major projects and developments were completed in 2024, with the aim of reducing how long people wait for treatment and to improve access to care.

In January, the Trust opened the doors to a new state-of-the-art theatre complex at Royal Bolton Hospital, containing four theatres that will help approximately 5,000 patients each year.

Two months later, in March, history was made as the first patients received vital diagnostic tests and scans in Bolton’s new Community Diagnostic Centre.

80,000 diagnostic tests will be carried out each year, ranging from phlebotomy and fibroscan to MRI and X-ray, to support patients on elective care journeys and those referred for cancer diagnosis.

Other highlights include:

• A new breast screening room, thanks to a £100,000 donation from Boot Out Breast Cancer
• The opening of a new Discharge Unit to reduce delays leaving hospital and free up bed space
• Announcing the multi-million pound redevelopment of the Maternity and Women’s Health Unit to create modern and spacious maternity spaces

Rae added:

We’re incredibly proud of what we have been able to achieve this year, but we know there is more we can be doing to improve care and transform lives by developing our services to meet the needs of our local population in 2025.

Improving patient care and experience

A number of initiatives to improve patient care and experience were introduced over the past twelve months, including a pilot scheme to feed parents who find themselves staying in hospital while their children are being cared for.

Sophie’s Legacy, created in memory of nine-year-old Sophie Fairall, aims to reduce financial pressures on families.

Royal Bolton Hospital is also among 143 Trust’s to test and roll out Martha’s Rule, a new NHS initiative to provide a consistent and understandable way for patients and families to seek an urgent review if their or their loved one’s condition deteriorates and they are concerned this is not being responded to.

Our Bolton NHS Charity’s fantastic fundraisers

Tens of thousands of pounds was raised for Our Bolton NHS Charity, the Trust’s official charity partner, after people in and around Bolton looked to give something back for the care and support they received from staff.

Fintan O’Malley and his family and friends raised more than £33,000 for the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, in memory of his baby daughter Millie who received specialist care at the hospital.

 

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They hosted a charity dinner and a series of 33-day challenges, before Fintan finished their year of fundraising with a 330km ultramarathon event across the West Pennine Moors.

There was help from Hollywood in the summer to support a couple raising nearly £20,000 for charity, with part of that money going to Bolton’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as a thank you to the neonatal nurses who provided life-saving care for their little boy.

Wrexham AFC player, James Jones, and his partner, Chloe, set up the fundraiser after their son, Jude, was born 15 weeks prematurely in November 2022 and spent 122 days in hospital.

The Go Fund Me has received a generous £10,000 boost from Hollywood star and Wrexham AFC owner, Ryan Reynolds, and his co-owner, Rob McElhenney.

The support of generous donations to Our Bolton NHS Charity in 2024 has enabled the Trust to invest in:

• Hot cots so babies who are born prematurely and at risk of hypothermia can remain on the post-natal ward with Mum, instead of being admitted to the neonatal unit.
• Reclining chairs so patients who are waiting for planned orthopaedic surgery in the Elective Care Centre can do so in optimum comfort
• Themed LED ceiling tiles and bubble wall panels so patients with autistic spectrum conditions and learning difficulties stay calm while they have a plaster cast applied or removed – image attached but you may have a better version.

If you want to make a difference in the lives of people in Bolton in 2025, visit the Trust’s career pages of the website to see what opportunities are available.