Millions of pounds could be invested in building new medical centres across Cornwall, helping to ease the pressure on the county's main hospital.

The Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske is running at almost 98% capacity, despite recent expansion.

It is hoped that the new centres will carry out many routine operations such as cataracts instead.

At a meeting of the hospital trusts' board, members looked at plans to open diagnostic and treatment centres at Penzance, Helston, Falmouth, Truro, Camborne/Redruth, Newquay, St Austell and Bodmin.

Cataract operations will be handed to the diagnostic centres

It is estimated the centres will cost about �135m.

The Peninsula Health Authority will be asked to support the project with some of the extra cash the government has committed to the NHS.

Work on building the first one could start by the summer.

Diagnostic centres have been approved elsewhere around England and Wales.

Health minister John Hutton said: "One of the biggest problems we have in the NHS is that work on emergency cases often causes routine operations to be cancelled postponed.

"If we can separate the emergency work from the routine operations, we can sped up treatment of the vast majority of NHS patients."