Frimley Park Hospital's £20m revamp approved by council
Plans for the £20m redevelopment of a Surrey hospital have moved a step closer.
Surrey Heath Borough Council granted Frimley Park Hospital approval to extend its A&E department and build a new day surgery unit.
The new-look emergency unit will have additional resuscitation stations and a helicopter landing pad on the roof.
The proposal will now go before the hospital trust's board for final approval in January 2011.
Kelvin Wright, a consultant in clinical care, said the existing A&E unit was made to see 65,000 patients a year but currently sees more than 95,000.
He said: "The staff here work extremely hard in cramped conditions and it will be rewarding to move into a new building and be able to deliver the care that people want to deliver."
Mr Wright said the air ambulance was currently forced to land in a nearby school field.
He said: "Once the aircraft have landed, an ambulance has to pick up the patients and taken them on a 10 to 15 minute road journey.
"All the advantages of a short aircraft journey have been lost."
The cost of the current plans have been reduced from £30m to £20m due to the current economic outlook.