A £33million deal to help create state-of-the-art surgical and gynaecological wards at Kingston Hospital has been sealed, health chiefs announced last week.

Work on the new Phase 5 development on the northern end of the hospital site, bordering the Esher Wing, will begin this month.

Construction will start with the creation of a new junction and access road on Kingston Hill, to be completed in the new year.

It will provide access for construction vehicles and will be transformed into a staff entrance when the main building is complete in summer 2006.

The new development will include: q New surgical and gynaecological wards to replace those in the Roehampton wing q A new pre-operative assessment area and emergency gynaecology assessment unit q A department for physiotherapy services q An integrated education and training centre and library q A site-wide kitchen and dining facilities for staff and visitors.

The project has been funded through the Government's private finance initiative.

Hospital bosses closed the funding deal with partners, Prime Health Consortium, last week.

They have entered into a 30-year partnership, which means that Prime Health, comprising developers Equion and the Constain Group, will provide the facilities and hotel services.

This week the hospital attempted to allay fears the construction work would cause disruption to users and neighbouring residents.

A spokesman for the hospital said that existing buildings would not be affected.

She added: "A new decked car park and the Phase 5 building will be built at the northern end of the site where there is currently car parking.

"However Prime Health will ensure there is no disruption through loss of car parking at the hospital by creating a managed car park during construction and then by building a decked car park for after the construction period."

Kingston Hospital NHS Trust chief executive Carole Heatly, described the latest development as an "exciting time" for the hospital. It follows four years of planning, consultation and negotiations.

Future development plans include the creation of a new nurses home, and building the William Rous Cancer Unit, funded by Kingston Can.

The Wolverton Centre for Sexual Health will also be demolished and replaced by a new building, with work starting in mid-2005.