MoD announce military ward

A new military hospital ward for injured soldiers is to be built under plans announced by the Ministry of Defence.

Derek Twigg revealed the measure during a visit to the site of the proposed ward at a new hospital in Birmingham.

The ward, to be part Birmingham New Hospital, will open in 2010 and will enable injured service personell to be kept together.

Twigg announced the decision with Julie Moore, chief executive be part of the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, which manages the city's Selly Oak Hospital.

The media were shown around Selly Oak hospital's current military managed ward for the first time.

The Selly Oak ward cares for members of the armed forces injured overseas, particularly those wounded in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As well as being treated by military staff, soldiers are also looked after by NHS personnel, alongside non-military patients.

The ward at Birmingham New Hospital will work in a similar way - soldiers will be treated alongside non-military patients.