'En-suite' hospital plan approved

The new Pembury Hospital will be in a "woodland clearing"

Plans for a £226m hospital in west Kent have been approved by councillors.

The 512-bed Pembury Hospital is due to open by 2011, and is said to be the first in the NHS which will give every patient their own en-suite bedroom.

The hospital, near Tunbridge Wells, will replace both the existing Pembury and Kent and Sussex hospitals.

There had been concerns the recent scandal over the clostridium difficile deaths at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust could derail the plans.

Building is due to start early next year on the private-finance scheme, which was passed by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

'Reducing infections'

The approved scheme also limits car parking spaces at the site to encourage public transport use.

Its approval comes a week after the Healthcare Commission revealed 90 patients within the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust died from C.difficile.

A report said a "litany" of errors in infection control had caused the "avoidable tragedy".

Earlier this year, lead architect John Cooper said the most important thing was that it would be the first major NHS hospital where patients would not have to share a bedroom.

"This is so important for reducing hospital infections, which has become such a major issue," he said in July.