Musgrove Park Hospital accident and emergency unit expands
Four new accident and emergency treatment bays at Taunton's Musgrove Park Hospital have been opened.
The £2.9m expansion will provide the hospital with extra capacity to cope with the increase in the number of patients seen by the department.
Three new ambulance handover bays and an additional resuscitation area will also benefit trauma patients.
It has been funded in part by savings from elsewhere and cash from the former NHS Somerset Primary Care Trust.
More than £400,000 donated by the hospital's League of Friends has been used to purchase the medical equipment in the new bays.
Emergency department consultant Dr Jon Tipping said the generosity of the League of Friends meant it had access to the best possible equipment.
"The number of people visiting our emergency department has been rapidly increasing over the years and so the additional treatment bays will really help us to cope with demand," he said.