SLOW worms threatened to hold up work to build a £27 million treatment centre next to Swindon's Great Western Hospital.

As part of the planning consent for the building of the centre's 250-space car park, wildlife experts were brought in to scour the area for the protected reptiles.

Hospital trust spokesman Chris Birdsall said: "I am pleased to say no slow worms were found and there were no delays in the work to build the car park serving the new unit."

He said building had started and, barring further delays, the building should operational by spring 2005.

The building will boost the number of beds by a 118, in addition to the hospital's 541 beds and 62 in the intermediate care unit. When it is complete, the five-storey unit will have five operating theatres and be able to treat an estimated extra 6,000 patients a year.

Directors of the trust hope this unit will help ease the pressure on hospital beds.

A surge of emergency cases has meant hundreds of people have had to be cared for on hospital trolleys.

And some operations have been cancelled to free up theatres for emergency use.

Further work to beat the beds crisis includes the creation of an interim 26-bed ward to be opened soon in a temporary building adjoining the main GWH building.

Thirty-six beds will be available in the autumn, when work to change an administration area into a ward is due to finish.