A hospital trust has been given a £500,000 boost to help prepare itself for expected winter pressures.
Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust won additional funding from the Department of Health for critical care services.
The funding will allow an increase in intensive care and high dependency beds at Worthing Hospital from nine to 12 by the end of the year.
It will also pay for 11 extra nurses and a second consultant specialising in intensive treatment.
The award is part of a £150 million cash boost announced by the Government in May this year specifically for critical care beds.
Last year the hospital struggled to find space to cope with a flu epidemic over the Christmas period, which led to more beds being taken up and fewer non-emergency operations being carried out.
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