Hospital bosses at Southend are jubilant at getting the go-ahead for a much-needed £3.2 million expansion of the accident and emergency department.

Work is due to start almost immediately on the first phase, which will increase the size of the observation ward outwards and upwards to take 21 beds, instead of the present 14.

The A & E department was built in 1970 to cope with 25,000 patients annually. Since then the volume has exploded to 62,000 new patients a year, with 7,000 follow-up appointments.

Although the final design has yet to be agreed, the new layout will include more treatment areas, separate waiting and treatment areas for children, an improved waiting room, specialist counselling rooms and a better working environment for staff.

Department director, Kate Burgess, said: "For a number of years, working conditions have been very difficult because of the lack of space. It is very cramped, but the new department will double the size of the existing one.

"We will be designing the inside according to the needs of the patients we treat."

Miss Burgess is also planning to recruit extra staff, but it is still too early to say exactly how many.

She said: "Staff are absolutely delighted. It will mean a tremendous improvement for the local community.

"The biggest advantage will be the separation of adult and children's facilities, which is something we have long wished to accommodate."

Two million pounds of the cost has come from the Government's modernisation fund, with the remainder from regional capital.

The hospital's director of operations and service development, Andrew Pike, said: "This is very good news for the local community and reflects the priority the Government has placed on investing in A & E services."

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