A threatened private hospital has been thrown a lifeline.

The NHS has agreed to spend up to £900,000 to pay for services at King Edward VII Hospital in Midhurst, to continue up until the end of this financial year.

It means an extra 280 NHS patients from West Sussex and parts of Hampshire and Surrey, will receive heart and orthopaedic operations and general surgery.

The move will give the hospital and the provisional liquidator time to negotiate with a prospective purchaser to sell the hospital as a going concern.

The extra cash will let King Edward VII break even over the coming weeks.

The annual contract for NHS work there is £4.5 million, providing a third of the hospital's income.

Simon Robbins, chief executive of Surrey and Sussex Strategic Health Authority said: "Our priority throughout our negotiations has been to get the best deal for NHS patients and we now have an agreement with the hospital, through the liquidator, that ensures we will pay no more for these operations than we would have to if they were carried out in our own hospitals.

"The King Edward VII was a failing hospital and the NHS cannot be expected to prop up such an institution if it is not providing quality care at the right price.

"However, we believe this deal will be good for local people. If it gives the liquidator more time so that a long-term solution can be found, it is good news for everyone."

Today's news is expected to be welcomed by staff and campaigners who have battled to save the hospital .