THE Friends of Lydney and District Hospital have been major players in the opening on Tuesday of a brand new extension to house outpatient services.

Housed in locally-sourced prefabricated modular units, the relocated department was made possible through £200,000 raised by the Friends matched with £200,000 from Gloucestershire NHS.

The extension at Lydney means that more services can be provided in the Forest, reducing the need for patients to travel to Gloucester and Cheltenham for treatment.

It provides an extra five consulting rooms and a treatment room as well as providing better staff facilities.

County NHS chief executive Jan Stubbings, who performed the opening ceremony accompanied by Friends chairman Melville Watts, said: "The opening of this extension is a major boost to the hospital and reinforces our commitment to extend the range of services that are provided to patients closer to where they live.

"We want to make sure that our local community hospitals continue to have a key role to play in providing highly valued services to local people."

Mr Watts said: "The hospital, and its staff, has a proud tradition in providing first rate health services in a caring, supportive and professional environment. We are so please that this extension means even more patients will now benefit from this experience."

Chair of the Forest Commissioning Cluster, GP Dr Martin Gibbs, said: "This is wonderful news for local patients.

"There is a real desire to work in partnership to make services accessible and community-based wherever possible and our two local community hospitals are key to achieving this vision."