An "ageing" accident and emergency (A&E) unit at a hospital in Carmarthenshire is to be revamped under plans unveiled on Thursday.

A total of �7m will be spent on improving and expanding existing services at the West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen.

Jane Hutt was told about the unit's problems

The A&E department, which deals more the double the number of patient for which it was designed, will be relocated and theatres will be refurbished.

Carmarthenshire NHS Trust hopes work will start on the modern facilities within the next two years.

The hospital was built in 1959 and bosses at the A&E department have said that it struggles to cope with the numbers of patients which passes through its doors.

It was designed for 12,000 patients annually but now has to deal with more than 25,000 patients.

The new unit will be able to treat more than 30,000 patients.

The hospital's clinical services director Jeremy Savage said the money was a tremendous boost not only for patients in the area but also for staff.

He said: "This means we can undergo a major refurbishment programme and develop our back-room services such as X-ray, pharmacy and pathology.

"Our pharmacy unit is one fifth of the size it should be for a hospital like this.

Essential work

"The outpatients department deals with 105,000 people each year but was designed for 15,000.

"Maintenance work has to be carried out on a regular basis to stop the roof of the pathology department from collapsing from water damage."

The announcement of the plans was made by Welsh Health Minister Jane Hutt during a visit to the hospital on Thursday.

"The money is there in the bag and it is up to the trust to move quickly now," Ms Hutt said.

"This is an example of how money is getting through to patients."