PATIENTS at Worcestershire Royal Hospital's A&E department will continue to be treated in a temporary building under plans strongly criticised by a patients' group.

A single-storey portable building has been in place beside the Worcester hospital's main accident and emergency department since September 2005, offering an temporary home for the department's 12-bed observation ward.

But the two years' planning permission originally granted for the building now looks set to be extended for another three years.

A final decision will be made by Worcester City Council's planning committee on Thursday. Officers are recommending that approval is granted.

But the plan has been strongly criticised by Janie Thomas, chairman of the patients' forum for Worcestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT), who said: "Obviously, because of the financial position, they're not spending a great deal of money at the moment. But my personal view is I don't like these temporary things.

"I'd rather we had a certain amount of hardship for a very short while and then got something permanent. There seems to be no long-term plan, and I wish there was.

"There never seem to be any far-reaching thoughts - it always seems to be crisis management and making do. And this comes into that category as far as I'm concerned."

A spokesman for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust said it was necessary for the temporary building to remain in place while a decision is made on the possible construction of an Urgent Care Centre in Worcester.

Urgent Care Centres are designed to reduce the numbers of people attending accident and emergency departments by offering walk-in primary care treatment to patients with non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries.

The spokesman said: "As part of the strategic development of healthcare across the county, Worcestershire PCT and Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust are looking at the provision of an Urgent Care Centre in Worcester.

"This could be sited at Worcestershire Royal. However, until that decision is made later this year, we are seeking to extend the use of the temporary building."

It is unusual for a council to renew any temporary planning permission, as officers normally wish to encourage developers to find permanent solutions.

However, the city council's head of urban environment, John Wrightson, stated in his report that "the provision of care facilities is essential for the effective operation of the hospital, and as such should be supported in principle".

Recommending a three-year extension, Mr Wrightson made it clear that "a permanent structure should be of high priority", and said three years "should be sufficient time for a permanent solution to be implemented."