A MULTI-MILLION pound improvement scheme for Salisbury District Hospital was this week identified as the top priority in Wiltshire Health Authority's spending plans.

Costing an estimated £13m, the focus of the scheme is a four-storey block, with each floor being designated for a single service. But the plans must still be approved by the regional health authority in the new year before a timetable for development can be drawn up.

"We don't care whether it is top of the regional list or not, just as long as it falls within those projects which are to be funded," said Laurence Arnold, head of planning for Salisbury Health Care Trust.

One of the most serious concerns that must be addressed at the district hospital is the threat posed by the superbug MRSA, particularly in the orthopaedic department. Two new larger orthopaedic wards on one floor of the new block would help combat this.

As part of the plans the burns unit would be moved to another one of the floors and care of the elderly to a third. The fourth floor would be devoted to treatment of cancer patients.

The final aspect of the £13m proposal involves the relocation of hospital laundry facilities from their present base at Old Manor Hospital in Wilton Road to the district hospital site.