THE cold clinical atmosphere of hospitals is soon be a thing of the past for patients at Fairfield.

Bosses at the Rochdale Old Road complex are seeking to model it on a hotel facility.

Fairfield Hospital is in the middle of a massive development programme to accommodate the services currently provided at Bury General Hospital, which is due to close to the public this summer.

This month's issue of the Bury Trust News reports: "The new developments will be completely different to the traditional hospital environment, it is envisaged that they will have a 'hotel' atmosphere, reflected in the decor."

Bury Health Care NHS Trust is to appoint an external arts co-ordinator who will advise and work with health bosses to produce artwork to improve the hospital environment. Hospital staff have been invited to get involved in the ambitious project through an arts steering group which will be set up to lead the project.

"The job of artwork should be to make the hospital environment more comfortable and attractive to patients, staff and visitors, and to get away from the traditional 'sterile' corridors and wards apparent in hospitals," adds the newsletter.