THE building of a £227million hospital offering each patient their own en-suite room has got a step closer.

NHS South East Coast, the Strategic Health Authority for Kent, Surrey and Sussex, has given approval for the building of Pembury Hospital, funded by a Private Finance Initiative.

Their recommendation means approval now needs to be sought from the Department of Health and ultimately The Treasury.

If all those approvals are given, building work will start later this year and the first departments of the new hospital should be open by November 2010, with the whole hospital running by 2011 or 2012.

The new hospital will have 512 rooms, offer planned surgery, outpatient clinics, take emergency surgical and orthopaedic cases, plus offer a women and children's zone incorporating best practice in maternity and children's services.

Candy Morris, chief executive of the NHS South East Coast, said: "This decision brings this long hoped-for scheme a major step forward.

"It will also require the hospital trust and PCT to work very closely together over the coming years to redesign and improve services for patients."

The Department of Health is expected to consider the PFI scheme in the next few weeks.