Final preparations for royal visit

Final preparations are under way for Princess Anne's visit to Cannock and Lichfield tomorrow.

The Princess Royal will officially open the £18million Samuel Johnson Community Hospital in Lichfield tomorrow morning.

Princess Anne will be given a guided tour of the new hospital by Anne Heckels, managing director of provider services for South Staffordshire Primary Care Trust. Her tour of the facility will take in the state-of-the-art X-ray suite, radiology department, maternity and renal units.

The princess will then be unveiling a special plaque in the reception area of the hospital, which is located off Trent Valley Road.

The hospital has already been up and running for a year, and 35,000 patients have been treated in its Minor Injuries Unit since it opened in January 2007.

Serving the population of Lichfield and Burntwood, the community hospital boasts 52 inpatient beds, an integrated rehabilitation unit, pharmacy and a discharge liaison suite.

Later tomorrow afternoon Princess Anne will be in Cannock to officially open the first section of a £1.5 million heritage trail linking Cannock and Rugeley.The princess will walk along a section of the trail before meeting groups who will use the new facility, including mountain bikers, school children and an art group.

A plaque will be unveiled before she opens the new Forestry Commision Tree House Education Centre at Birches Valley Forest Centre.

Dignitaries from Cannock Chase Council and representatives from the Forestry Commission will accompany the princess as she walks the trail.

The Chase Heritage Trail will run from Cannock to Rugeley passing through, or close to, historic sites that may have been difficult to access in the past.

The project is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Staffordshire Environmental Fund, and includes plans to extend and refurbish the Museum of Cannock Chase with a new local history gallery and touch-screen information points.

By Kerry McDermott