We may be in the middle of a heatwave but the health service is already thinking about winter and one Kent trust has been given a cash injection to improve its A&E service for when the colder weather hits.

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust announced today it has been awarded £944,291 for winter A&E improvements.

The money is part of the A&E streaming package, announced in the government's spring budget, and will be used to build two new GP assessment rooms at Darent Valley Hospital and hopefully allow patients to be seen more quickly.

Susan Acott, the trust's chief executive, said: “The extra funding is very welcome and will be used to improve care and streamline the way that all patients are seen in the Emergency Department/A&E. The ED waiting area will be redesigned to incorporate two new GP assessment rooms.

"A senior nurse will see patients on arrival to ensure they are seen as quickly as possible by the most appropriate person. This could be a referral back to their own GP, being seen by one of the GPs in A&E or by the Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP).

"We anticipate that around 60 patients a day will be seen by the A&E GPs and 45 by the ENPs. This will allow people with more severe injuries or conditions faster access to emergency care.”

The Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt has awarded a further £20.74 million to 27 hospitals in England, which follows an initial £55.98 million given to 70 hospitals in April.

He said the money was designed to ease pressure on hospital emergency departments ahead of next winter.

Mr Hunt said: “The NHS prepares well in advance for winter each year, but despite the hard work and dedication of staff, demand on services continues to increase as a result of our ageing population.

“This vital investment will help hospitals change the way they assess and see patients so people are given the most appropriate medical care as quickly as possible.”

A trust spokesman added: "Today’s funding will also help to support wider plans set out by NHS England to improve A&E performance in England by 2018, particularly to get hospitals hitting the target of admitting, transferring or discharging 95% of patients within four hours."

Gareth Johnson, MP for Dartford, welcomed the announcement.

He said: "The winter months have always been the most challenging for the health service and it is right that we should be planning for this winter now and not in a few months’ time.

“The extra funding for Darent Valley Hospital will help to cope with these increased pressures and therefore is a welcome addition to the resources already being given."