A Suffolk hospital is set to improve its training facilities for trainee doctors and nurses after plans for a £450,000 extension to its education centre was approved.

A Suffolk hospital is set to improve its training facilities for trainee doctors and nurses after plans for a £450,000 extension to its education centre was approved.

The West Suffolk Hospital's trust board gave the go-ahead for the extra investment at the Hardwick Lane site in Bury St Edmunds at a meeting on Friday .

Proposals for the education centre include a new lecture theatre capable of seating 120 people, which can also be divided into two smaller rooms.

If planning permission is granted by St Edmundsbury Borough Council, officials from the NHS Trust extension hope that the extension will be completed by January 2010.

Roy Bannon, medical director at the West Suffolk, said the work would be paid for with money from a variety of sources, including nursing endowment funds and income generated by holding educational events at the centre.

“This extension supports our continued commitment to education and learning and will further strengthen the excellent teaching partnerships we have in place with our local universities and colleges.”

“At the West Suffolk, we have a long tradition of investing in staff training, and we appoint many of our staff partially as a result of that reputation. We are confident that this new facility will give us even greater scope for training in the future,” he said.

Phase one of the hospital's education centre was completed in 2002, including a lecture hall, training rooms, computer rooms and a coffee room and lounge.