Emergency surgery at a Kent NHS trust is being centralised so that all urgent operations are carried out at one hospital instead of two.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust said the move would bring services together in one centre of expertise.
From May 2009, all emergency and orthopaedic operations will be performed at the Kent and Sussex Hospital in Tunbridge Wells.
Scheduled surgery will take place at Maidstone Hospital.
Emergency operations are currently carried out at both hospitals.
Infection control
The trust's chief executive Glenn Douglas said both hospitals would continue to conduct outpatient clinics, run 24-hour A&E departments and perform operations which do not require patients to stay overnight.
He said the change would mean that patients having emergency surgery would be seen sooner.
People waiting for operations booked in advance will no longer have their procedures cancelled because of a sudden emergency, he added.
The change will also help infection control by separating unscreened emergency patients from screened patients, Mr Douglas said.
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