An on-the-spot electronic booking scheme for patients could soon be introduced by Worthing and Southlands Hospitals Trust.

Funding has been awarded to West Sussex Health Community to bring electronic booking to the Chichester and Worthing areas.

The move will mean patients being able to visit their GP, choose when and where they would like to receive hospital treatment and book their appointments on the spot or through a contact centre the next day.

Worthing and Southlands hospitals already have an electronic referral and booking system that will be ready to test in the near future.

The Government's target for offering electronic booking at all hospitals is 2005.

Hazel Hopkins, the trust's head of modernisation, said: "The benefits to the patients are enormous so we are very excited within the health community about rolling out the scheme.

"It will enable patients to have a greater choice and certainty about where and when they want to be treated and will eventually lead to the end of waiting for appointments to arrive through the post."