A £30million scheme to improve facilities at Burnley General Hospital has got under way with a cutting of the turf ceremony.

Burnley MP Peter Pike cut the first turf of the Phase Five development at the Casterton Avenue hospital, alongside trust chiefs.

The development is a £30million public-private project for a three-storey extension and internal improvements.

The new building will provide 170 beds, a large medical outpatient department, a rehabilitation unit and a new kidney dialysis unit.

Mr Pike said: "This ceremony marks a major landmark for Burnley General Hospital. This is the start of the work to pull the site finally together as a modern, first-class hospital site to meet the needs of the Burnley area in the 21st century."

Richard Gildert, acting chief executive, added: "I am delighted that work is progressing on the Burnley General Hospital site.

"We are working in partnership with Catalyst Healthcare on this development, which will provide modern, new facilities for the people of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale.

"Mr Pike has been supportive of the scheme from the word go and it is entirely appropriate that he should join the trust as guest of honour to mark the occasion."

The development will contain a new main entrance with visitor and patient parking close by.

Mr Gildert added: "There will be a 15-station renal dialysis unit, which means that patients receiving dialysis will no longer have to travel to hospitals outside the area.

"There will be 170 beds and facilities within the new outpatient departments for radiology, satellite pharmacy, ECG and dermatology.

"The new development will also allow all medical specialities for in-patients and out-patients to be located together in one building. The new building will replace the out of date Victorian Wards 10 to 16 which are subsequently to be demolished."

Christine Kirk, trust chairwoman, said: "This is a most important occasion for health services in East Lancashire.

"The Trust's staff have worked extremely hard in bringing the scheme to fruition and I would like to extend my thanks to the planning and design teams for this tremendous achievement." Linda Whitfield, head of nursing for the medical wards in the new development, said staff are trying to provide good nursing care in cramped, old-fashioned accommodation that is separate from the main hospital buildings.

She added: "It is exciting to be involved in planning purpose-built wards. The patients have much better facilities, which will also be easier for the nurses to work in.

"Being attached to the main hospital will make it much easier to take patients to departments such as X-ray."

Site preparation for the construction began in October 2003 with the buildings being open for patient use in June 2006.