Six new treatment rooms and an emergency care surgical unit have been created at Broomfield Hospital in a bid to help tackle pressures on A&E caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A new chemotherapy treatment area is also being installed to allow the hospital to see more cancer patients whilst keeping them safely distanced.

The new facilities are part of a £4.8million package of measures at Broomfield and Basildon hospitals to help improve the flow of people who arrive at them needing emergency care in the midst of the crisis.

The cash injection was announced last year to help improve services and facilities for winter and beyond.

A spokesperson for the Mid and South Essex NHS Hospitals Trust said: "This will mean that patients will get seen quicker when they come into hospital, help free up patient beds and mean less patients are unnecessarily admitted to hospital.

"Importantly, these changes will also factor in greater social distancing during Covid."