The emergency department at Basildon Hospital is to be given an upgrade with a £6m investment.

Half of the money will be used to more than double the size of the Essex hospital's rapid assessment, triage and treatment area, with eight larger assessment bays replacing the three current ones.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said it would help the department see and treat patients quicker.

The other £3m will fund the replacement of the department's 20-year-old roof.

Work on the extension is expected to begin in September and be completed by spring next year, the trust said.

Maimuna Mushabe, the hospital's interim chief executive, said: "Increasing our ambulance handover and assessment capacity at Basildon will help cut waiting times, improve patient flow through the emergency department and ensure people receive care more quickly."

It follows the success of a similar scheme at Southend Hospital recently.

"We have already seen the benefits of bigger assessment facilities at Southend Hospital," added Ms Mushabe.