A £9.7million cash injection will bring a new three-storey extension with 31 beds to Southend Hospital to “assess and treat” patients in the same day.

Construction is under way at the former main entrance of the hospital, with a building set to be home to 13 beds on the second floor discharge lounge, along with 18 assessment beds on the first floor. 

The new building see a phased opening, with the ground floor accommodating its first patients in April.

This will include same-day emergency care facilities, with eight cubicles, seven riser recliner chairs and three side rooms for assessment. 

The first floor will feature a trauma and surgical assessment unit, while the second floor will be used as a “patient discharge floor.”

The project comes as Basildon and Broomfield hospitals also receive improvements worth £4.8million.

Basildon Hospital will see extra space provided in the emergency department through two assessment rooms and a suite of refurbished treatment rooms.

Trevor Harp, councillor at Southend Council in charge of health and social care, applauded the plans. 

He described the improvements are “vital”, adding: “With a growing population in Southend, these are essential works.

“These are major for both staff and patients. 

“The staff will benefit no end from this.

“It’s very welcome that this kind of funding is available, it’s been needed for some time.

“The fact that Southend has had more investment than both the other hospitals prove it is really needed. 

“This will really help with the provision of beds in the area. Extra provision has been needed for some time.

“For a long time, Southend Hospital has been left behind and this will help bring us back to speed with the others.”

A spokesman for the Mid and South Essex Hospital trust, which runs Southend Hospital, said the move would help reduce the pressure caused by Covid-19. 

The spokesman added: “The modular unit is designed to assess and treat patients on the same day, with a view to discharging them rather than them needing to stay in hospital. 

“It will also help smooth the transition of patients from wards when they are being discharged.

“A range of improvement works are under way at our hospitals to help tackle the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic and people arriving at their local hospital needing emergency care.

“All of these mean that patients will get seen quicker when they come into hospital, help free up patient beds and mean fewer patients are unnecessarily admitted to hospital. 

“These changes will also factor in greater social distancing.”