A major centre aiming to help tackle hospital bed-blocking will welcome its first patients next month after passing a key milestone in its construction.

The final pieces of the Willow Therapy Unit at Norwich Community Hospital were delivered to the Bowthorpe Road site over the weekend as the £19.2m project nears its conclusion.

The centre will provide 48 new beds and will provide patients with the physiotherapy and rehabilitation care they need to return home following hospital treatment.

It is hoped the facility will mean a drastic reduction in the amount of time people need to spend in acute hospitals before they can be discharged.

The expansion was built using a cutting-edge method whereby modular buildings known as "pods" were constructed in a factory hundreds of miles away before being delivered complete onto the site.

Over the weekend, the final of these pods were delivered, meaning it will soon be ready to welcome its first patients.

How the Willow Therapy Unit will look when it is complete (Image: Merit) Lara Clear, deputy chief executive of Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust, said: "This marks a significant milestone for the project.

"We will be making final preparations inside the unit over the next few years, reading to admit the first patients in December.

"The first group of patients will be transferred from Birch Unit, which is a temporary ward established in the former Priscilla Bacon Lodge building at Colman Hospital."

This means the centre will be up and running in time for the crucial winter months.

Ms Clear added: "The 48-bed Willow Therapy Unit will play an important role in the Norfolk and Waveney healthcare system as we enter the winter period.

"Increasing the number of NHS beds available, it will provide support for patients as they move from acute hospitals back into the community.

"The focus on helping patients get stronger and gain independence will reduce the risk of hospital admission."