THE public got to take a trip around the human body and have those all important medical questions answered during an open day at Basildon Hospital.

Spread across the whole hospital site, with eight separate exhibition zones to explore, the event was a chance to visit the various departments and chat to staff about any injuries or ailments.

Eurovision singer Josh Dubovie, 19, from Laindon, opened the event and wandered around the exhibits.

He said: “Unfortunately, my dad’s been admitted a few times and, being our local hospital, we’ve visited a few times over the years. We’ve always been in safe hands.

“It’s been interesting for me to learn a bit more about what happens here.”

A giant inflatable colon in the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre was one of the event’s more unusual attractions, while in the hospital’s canteen guests could find out about everything from the hospitals cleaning programme to its porter service and waste management, as well as specialist nurses.

The open day was held to reassure the public following a difficult year for the hospital, which has seen it at the centre of a number of scandals over hygiene and patient safety.

Alan Whittle, chief executive of the Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals Trust, said: “This is all part of rebuilding people’s confidence in the hospital. It’s part of a programme to provide to local people the assurance that this hospital offers the highest standard of care.”

Maureen Perkins, 71, of Mildmayes in Langdon Hills, used the open day as an opportunity to visit the hospital and thank the nurses who cared for her late husband David. He died last year aged 72, after suffering from bladder cancer.

She said: “If we had been paying millions of pounds a day we couldn’t have had better care.”

The maternity and dermatology units also welcomed visitors, while people could also book a tour of an operating theatre.

In dermatology, visitors got a glimpse of sunbed-style light boxes that can be used to treat severe skin conditions and a machine that pumps an electric current through problem areas of the body to treat overactive sweat glands.

All the staff operating the 50 stalls at the exhibition gave up their time for free.

Mr Whittle added: “The staff have been fantastic throughout the whole year while the hospital has been under the spotlight.

“The attitude hasn’t been dented and they see the open day as a chance to let the public see that for themselves.”