Watford General Hospital will receive a £1 million boost to improve its accident and emergency department.

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the Vicarage Road hospital, has received £1 million to prepare for the high volume of patients it receives in winter.

The money will pay for the expansion of the A&E unit, and to pay for an eight-bed unit for patients who need further investigation.

The doors used by ambulance crews to access A&E will be widened to make access easier and quicker.

A secure route for trolleys will also be created to protect the privacy of patients in the resuscitation area.

Earlier this year the hospital faced criticism for being in the bottom 10 per cent of hospital trusts and not meeting the four-hour A&E target times as patients were left waiting on trolleys.

Now the hospital is ranked at 14th out of 138 hospital trusts as staff have worked to reduce waiting times.

Mayor of Watford Dorothy Thornhill said: “This is a real sign of returning confidence in the trust from government.

“They believe the necessary changes will happen and will therefore fund them.

“It’s a vote of confidence in our new team at the trust and as Mayor I am mightily pleased for patients who are our top priority.”

Watford MP Richard Harrington met Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to secure the funding.

He said: "The Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has visited Watford General several times over the last few years and so when it was announced that there would be a dedicated fund for emergency departments during the winter months, I made sure Watford was at the top of the list.

"I have no doubt that this will go a long way to improve our emergency services but I have to also pay tribute to the fantastic staff who work in the emergency department at Watford General, who have drastically reduced waiting times already."

The £1 million is part of a second wave of funding. A further £20.74 million has been awarded to 27 hospitals in England, which follows an initial £55.98 million given to 70 hospitals in April.

Mr Harrington said that this was part of the Government's wider plans to admit, transfer or discharge 95 per cent of A&E patients in England within four hours by 2018.

As well as Watford General Hospital, the trust also runs Hemel Hempstead Hospital and St Albans City Hospital.