BOSSES at Royal Bolton Hospital are set to receive nearly £3m from the government for crucial infrastructure projects.

The money is part of a £1.5bn fund, announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the summer, to improve hospital buildings across the NHS.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is set to receive £2,758,000 to tackle five maintenance projects, which are considered urgent.

This money has come from a £600m government allocation to target major infrastructure works required at hospitals across England.

The Royal Bolton Hospital work includes upgrades to the general infrastructure, including the electrical and fire safety system, improvements to the ventilation systems, the replacement of the lifts, and improvements to the roads within hospital grounds.

Key upgrades will also be made to the High Dependency Unit.

All the work that is done through this fund should be completed by March.

Andy Ennis, chief operating officer at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said: "One of our overall ambitions is to make sure that our hospital and our buildings are fit for the future so that our patients can be cared for, and our staff can work, in the best environments possible.

“As such we’re thrilled to receive £2,758,000 in critical infrastructure funding from the government to allow us to improve and develop our estate.

“The funding will help contribute towards an upgrade to our electrical and fire safety systems across the hospital, some environmental upgrades in our High Dependency Unit (part of critical care) and pharmacy, and improvements to the roads within our hospital estate.”

Mark Logan, MP for Bolton North East, hailed the news and said: “The five crucial maintenance projects will deliver immediate benefits to our health services here in Bolton, ensuring we continue to have the best services possible.”

And Bolton Council’s lead for wellbeing, Cllr Susan Baines, who is also a governor of Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is very positive news that the hospital will be receiving this boost.”

“It will be very welcome and hopefully it will be put to very good use.

“This sort of spending on the hospital can only be a good thing really.”

Earlier this year the Bolton News sister paper, The Bury Times, revealed there was a £144m backlog of repairs at Greater Manchester hospitals. Repairs and upgrades to Bury's Fairfield General, costing £18.5 were needed, Pennine Acute Hospital NHS Trust reported.