The public has been given its first look at a planned multi-million-pound Accident & Emergency unit at Airedale Hospital, which will see it almost double in size.

Bradford Council has received a planning application for the demolition of the Steeton hospital’s four-decade-old A&E unit and the construction of the new state-of-the-art facility, with room to expand further if needed.

The plans went out to public comment on Thursday.

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust says the existing hospital A&E is cramped and this has led to increased patient waiting times.

The new building, estimated to cost between £4 and £6 million, will include an improved main entrance and reception area, better clinical and staff areas, more private consultation rooms, clearer routes round the unit to “reduce stress and anxiety” and a new ambulance drop-off.

During construction, the emergency department will move to a neighbouring endoscopy unit, soon to be vacated when that department moves to a new £2.4 million unit.

The trust’s application says: “Improving the experience of patients and their families is at the heart of Airedale Hospital’s ethos, as highlighted by this proposal to transform the A&E environment to make it more welcoming and enhance patient privacy and dignity.

“The existing space for A&E within Airedale Hospital is unsuitable, with limited space for provision of an adequate number of clinical areas, which compromises many elements of care and patient experience, particularly privacy, safety and infection control.

“The floor area of the department will be almost double the current area and the entire layout of the department will support modern working practices.”

There will be a new children’s waiting area, separate from the adults’, and a private area where patients arriving by ambulance can wait to be seen.

The old building was designed to deal with up to 20,000 patients a year, but it currently treats nearly 50,000. The trust says the new building will be designed to deal with this number, but also with a view to two future extensions.

“To avoid some of the issues with the existing building the new design can easily be extended if future demand increases,” it adds.

Future expansions would take place in two phases, the first to bring the hospital’s capacity to 70,000 patients a year and the next to take that figure up to 90,000.

The new building will extend over the hospital’s existing helipad, and the trust says a replacement helipad site will need to be found elsewhere.

The plans are available to view on the council’s website at bradford.gov.uk.