A CANNINGTON man was the first patient on a newly refurbished hospital ward which had undergone a makeover thanks to a generous legacy donation.

The late Audrey Francis Rowe from Burnham-on-Sea left Taunton’s Musgrove Park Hospital a £162,000 donation for the Fielding Ward where her late husband Victor was cared for.

The ward looks after cardiac patients and a four-week refurbishment project took place, upgrading many of the clinical areas and improving the privacy and dignity of patients.

One of those is Ivor Holdman from Cannington.

Mr Holdman has been in and out of ward for the past nine years after he suffered from two serious heart attacks. He was the first patient on the ward following the refurbishment and along with his wife Heather, said he was delighted with the work.

He said: “We have nothing but praise for the staff on the ward and the heart team who have always been absolutely marvellous.

“What they’ve done is brilliant and the wet room is absolutely marvellous in particular, there’s so much room.

“All the staff here are wonderful and I’ve always had brilliant care whenever I’ve come in here. It’s the same when my wife rings the team if I’m not feeling too well. They always get back as soon as possible and are so helpful, there’s not a thing I could fault.”

As part of the work, the ward now has a bolder colour scheme and clearer signage to help patients and visitors find their way around. It also has a much larger wheelchair-friendly wet room and purpose-built clinical preparation room for medicines.

The ward was officially opened on October 25, by Robert Munroe, the executor of Mrs Rowe’s will and also a family friend of Mr and Mrs Rowe who lived in Burnham-on-Sea.

He cut the ribbon and a cake, and said how wonderful the improvements were and how highly Mrs Rowe spoke of the work and care given by the staff at Musgrove Park Hospital.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted to see what the money has enabled the hospital to do on this ward.

“Audrey’s husband Victor was cared for on this ward, and she thought very highly of the wonderful staff, I know she would be over the moon to see what her money has helped to achieve.”

Staff, patients and their families enjoyed a morning of celebrations to mark the official opening.

Nurse-led teams from the think tank the King’s Fund, worked with patients to improve the environment.

Jackiee Phillips, senior sister on Fielding ward, said: “As a sister on the ward I feel very privileged and overwhelmed by this generous donation.

“The work done has transformed the environment for our patients, visitors and staff.

“By making some structural changes to the ward, we have not only enhanced the patient environment, but have also taken care back to the bed space.”