THE Royal Surrey County Hospital will benefit from an extra £1 million to ease pressure on A&E in time for next winter.

It comes as part of an allocation of £55.98 million of the £100 million A&E capital funding by the Department of Health, as outlined in the Spring Budget.

At the Royal Surrey, the funding will be used to create a dedicated area for patients following their initial assessment by nurses in A&E, where primary care clinicians will be able to see appropriate patients.

This new space will also create three dedicated clinic GP rooms, a waiting area for patients and a small reception area.

The Royal Surrey was one of 20 hospitals across the country to declare a ‘black alert’ last winter after becoming so overcrowded that it could no longer guarantee patient safety.