Up to four new nurses are destined for a hospital's accident and emergency department following a £93,000 handout.

The nurses, some high grade, will start work at Eastbourne District General Hospital in Kings Drive early in the new year.

It follows a £6.2 million investment from the Government over the next two years to help hospitals ensure no patient spends more than four hours in the emergency unit before admission.

Health bosses hope to reach that target for 90 per cent of patients by March 2003.

The DGH has seen growing pressure placed on its A&E department, with it now ranked as one of the busiest in Sussex.

When it opened in 1976, it was designed to cope with 18,000 patients annually. By 1998, the unit was seeing 42,000 patients a year and the figure has risen to almost 50,000 patients in 2001.

Jim Davey, general manager for department, said: "We are pleased with this significant investment.

"Although it will not solve all the issues around emergency care, it is a step in recognising the growing demand placed on A&E departments."