BUILDING work has started on a £1.7 million project that will lead the way for a major shake up in the way accident and emergency patients are treated in the Maidstone.

Health chiefs say the work, expected to last six months, will extend emergency care services available, speed up treatment and create jobs.

The new accident and emergency/emergency care centre and integrated walk-in centre will also help the hospital to meet a Government-set target that all casualty patients are dealt with within four hours by the end of the year.

Construction has been planned on a phased basis to minimise disruption and ensure patients can continue to be seen and treated as normal.

Project facilitator Judith Wardlaw said: "We are working very closely with the building contractors to keep disruption in A&E to a minimum.

"There will be some visible signs of work going on in the department but our aim is to ensure people get the same quality of care and won't have to wait any longer to be seen."

Accident and Emergency senior nurse Steve Kemp said: "This isn't just a refurbishment of the existing department. It's the creation of an entirely new service that includes a walk-In centre for minor illnesses and minor injuries.

"There will be a clinical decision unit, where patients can be monitored who do not necessarily need to be admitted to a bed, a separate paediatric area and improved major injuries and resuscitation areas.

"It will also include a new base for on-call care which provides the new GP out of hours service.

"This is all designed to provide better emergency care services for the community. It also has the knock on effect of creating new jobs for the area and we want to hear from nurses who are also interested in joining us."

The project is a joint initiative between Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Maidstone Weald Primary Care Trust, Kent Ambulance NHS Trust and On Call Care.

Work is expected to be finished at the end of November. Once complete patients will be treated in the centre by a range of hospital doctors, nurse practitioners, therapists and GPs depending on their condition.

It will also free the A&E department to focus on patients with more serious conditions.