An £11 million capital funding boost will be used to “significantly improve” an emergency care unit.

Patient services at Watford General Hospital stand to benefit after the Department of Health announced today it would be giving the money to West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

The windfall, part of 75 projects revealed by the health and social care secretary Matt Hancock, will be used to improve capacity at the hospital by 20 per cent by developing an additional ten adult “majors” cubicles and a paediatric assessment area.

Watford MP, Richard Harrington, who has been campaigning for the extra funds, said: “I’m absolutely delighted to announce that we’ve had the green light this morning for a major investment in Watford General.

“This will deliver improved care pathways, and provide a much better patient experience, helping to deliver first class care to patients when they need it most.”

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust acting chief executive, Helen Brown, said: “We’re delighted to hear that we have been successful in our bid for capital funding.

“This will make an enormous contribution to transforming and improving patient services and help to increase capacity in our emergency department.

“We will also be able to provide greater privacy and dignity for our patients by increasing the size of our treatment cubicles.”

The trust also said staff will benefit from “adequate rest facilities” and ambulance crews will see “improved handover times and experience”.

Elected Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “I welcome the Government’s recent announcement of extra funding which will be some help to those who use and work at emergency facilities in our town.

“We now need to work to help deliver better hospital facilities in Watford, including a new car park and improvements to our hospital to make it fit for the 21st century.

“We have already built a new access road and made land available for these improvements to happen. I will always do all I can to support the trust and help to make these much-needed improvements a reality.”

The announcement is part of £1bn extra capital funding being announced across England.