Two operating theatres are to be built at a cost of £3.7 million at Worthing Hospital allowing for about 3,500 operations a year.

They will be used for a mixture of routine and emergency orthopaedic surgery such as hip replacements.

Bosses hope to have the theatres up and running by next summer.

Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust medical director Phillip Barnes said: “This investment is critical if we are to keep on improving the care we give our patients. The new operating theatres will allow us to treat people more quickly and also in a safer environment with a lower risk of infection.

“We have worked closely with the clinical teams involved to make sure that the designs for these new theatres are the best they can be, to help them deliver the best possible care.”

The work will bring the total number of operating theatres up to nine.

The plans are the latest in a series of improvements at Wor thing Hospital.

Builders are already creating an improved accident and emergency department. A new outpatient block is also under construction.

The investment was approved at the latest hospital trust board meeting.