A PROJECT involving sisters at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and the Calderdale Royal Hospital in Halifax has got backing from the top.

The Government's Chief Nursing Officer, Chris Beasley, has given it her seal of approval.

She visited the scheme's Brighouse base to mark the end of the year-long leadership programme.

Its aim was to give 36 sisters extra skills to boost patient care.

The project involved looking at issues such as nutrition and hospital meals and providing questionnaires for patients about their care.

The project is set to be developed nationally.

Sisters who took part gathered for their last session at the Kits Training Centre in Brighouse.

Ms Beasley said: "The Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust should be extremely proud.

"It is clear that supporting and developing ward managers is critical to providing good-quality, cost-effective care."

The trust's director of nursing, Helen Thomson, said: "It was a fantastic day and there has been some wonderful feedback from people there.

"All the staff involved can feel rightly proud of their achievements. Ward sisters play a pivotal role in hospitals and anything the trust can do to further support and develop them is extremely important."