The government wants A&E patients dealt with within four hours

Casualty Plus will treat walk-in patients prepared to pay to avoid long waits at Accident and Emergency (A&E) units when it opens in Brentford in October.

It claims to be the first private casualty department in Britain.

Costs for treatment start at a �29 fixed fee for initial consultation at the unit which promises patients will be "seen in minutes, not hours".

Those in charge say the �5m facility, which will open from 0700 BST to 2300 BST every day, is not meant to compete with the NHS but to offer those prepared to pay more choice.

Clinical director Dr Johan de Plessis said: "In a genuine emergency, there is no better service than the NHS. But for the first time, for less serious conditions, there is now a real choice.

"We are not in competition with any part of the NHS. We understand the pressure that GPs and hospital are under and we aim to complement the services they provide."

Everyday illnesses

The unit will treat everyday illnesses and injuries as well as offering clinical tests, vaccinations and day surgery.

Dr de Plessis said it will be manned by staff with "extensive A&E experience".

A Department of Health survey published in July found 6% of hospital patients waited at least 12 hours in A&E on a trolley or a chair.

The government wants 90% of A&E patients to be assessed, treated, discharged or admitted within four hours.

But doctors attending the British Medical Association's annual conference in June denounced the target and said it would damage patient care.

Casualty Plus already has plans for more walk-in centres around the UK.