An extra £30 million is to be invested in a city's healthcare over the next year.

The money spent by Brighton and Hove City Primary Care Trust (PCT) will focus on both hospital and community services as well as moves to improve people's health.

Around £2.8million will go towards moves to make sure people get hospital treatment more quickly with the long term aim of having nobody waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment by the end of 2008.

In the early 1990s, thousands of patients waited more than two years for a routine operation but this has now fallen to a maximum of 26 weeks.

Other changes include setting up a specialist respiratory team which focuses on keeping people with chronic breathing problems out of hospital.

Almost £1 million of this year's extra investment is going into improving the health of local people through schemes such as stop smoking services.

Plans are also in hand to open new supersurgeries in the city to provide a range of services normally only available at hospitals, under one roof.

PCT chief executive Darren Grayson said: "Many of our investment plans for this year are about helping people to stay healthy and making sure that if they need treatment it is in the right place, at the right time.

"It isn't all about hospitals. We are investing more in services provided in GP practices, patients' homes, local clinics and elsewhere in the community.

"These save patients the time and expense of travelling to hospital and often mean patients are seen in a more relaxing environment.

"Of course we are investing in our local hospitals too. Revolutionary new medicines and procedures are constantly being developed and we need to ensure when patients do need expert hospital care it is there for them.

"The PCT is accountable for public money and responsible for keeping the NHS within its budget.

"These improvements for patients will come from investment but are also brought about by the commitment and hard work of NHS staff.

"We will continue to strive for improvement, innovation and the best value for money in all we do."

The total PCT budget for the next financial year is £380 million.

South East Coast Strategic Health Authority has been given an extra £500 million to develop services across Sussex, Surrey and Kent.

Plans for Sussex include a new clinical assessment system in West Sussex where teams of specialist nurses, therapists and others based in a supersurgery or community hospital decide the best initial treatment so a patient does not have to go and see a consultant unnecessarily.

Evidence suggests the £7.5 million scheme could reduce hospital outpatients appointments by half.

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