A National Health Service chief who has overseen an investment of £100m in a decade for Bradford’s hospitals has been thanked for his work as he stands down from the post.

David Richardson has been chairman of Bradford Teaching Hospitals for the past nine years.

Foundation Trust chief executive Bryan Millar offered his thanks to Mr Richardson, who will leave at the end of June.

Speaking at his final meeting, Mr Richardson said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my board colleagues for their support throughout and especially all our staff who work tirelessly to deliver excellent healthcare for the people of Bradford.

“I’m particularly proud of the £100m investment that has taken place to modernise the hospitals over the last nine years and I am pleased that this investment will continue in the future.”

Among the most recent developments have been the start of work on a £2.3m centre at Bradford Royal Infirmary, which will provide state of the art facilities for patients with heart problems.

Another £500,000 is also going into upgrading the cardiology ward and a new ultrasound suite was also opened in the past few months, at a cost of £300,000.

Mr Richardson also worked to ensure the public of Bradford were represented on the trust’s Council of Governors, to ensure the views and needs of the community were represented.

His successor is Professor Lord Patel of Bradford.

Lord Patel worked as a social worker before moving into the academic world, establishing the Centre for Ethnicity and Health at the University of Central Lancashire and specialising in research connected to the reduction of health inequalities.

Trust staff will get the opportunity to say goodbye to Mr Richardson on Thursday, June 26, at a special function to honour his departure at the Sovereign Lecture Theatre which begins at 5.30pm.