The first patients were treated at the new unit on Monday

The new unit at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds cost just over �4m.

Everything from cataracts and corneal grafts to squints and glaucoma can be treated at the centre - mostly on a day care basis.

Hospital bosses say it will cut waiting as the number of eye operations at the hospital doubles.

A year ago the average wait was 14 months. By August it is expected to be just three months.

"We have two dedicated eye theatres which allow us to do a lot more surgery a lot more effectively," said consultant ophthalmologist Tony Vivian.