HIP and knee replacements are set to come back to Kidderminster Hospital as part of a deal between the NHS and a private healthcare company.

The vital operations were snatched from the hospital in 2000 as part of its downgrading and meant patients had to go to Redditch, Worcester and Birmingham for treatment.

A new deal will, this month, see extra sessions for minor orthopaedic surgery carried out at the hospital to slash waiting times.

Backers of the scheme said the intention was, eventually, to carry out hip and knee replacements, from next year.

Two surgeons from The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham will this week begin consulting sessions at the Treatment Centre at Kidderminster Hospital as part of a deal with private medical firm, Interhealth Canada.

Minor operations will be carried out later this month and will include arthroscopic camera surgery and foot surgery.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, will benefit from reduced waiting times but will also be paid for use of the Treatment Centre, said spokesman, Richard Haynes.

He explained: "Anything that creates extra capacity is going to help us bring waiting times down.

"It is good news for the trust and anybody waiting for a procedure."

Wyre Forest MP, Dr Richard Taylor, said: "This is absolutely brilliant. Here are some really significant things coming back and the more that comes back the better."

The deal will see almost 2,500 operations commissioned by Wyre Forest Primary Care Trust during the next five years. The other two PCTs in Worcestershire will also send patients to the Treatment Centre.

Eamonn Kelly, acting chief executive of Wyre Forest PCT, said: "This is really good news and I hope people will work to make it a success."

The scheme is costly, though. The operations will cost more than if they were carried out on the NHS, although the PCTs will only have to pay standard NHS charges.

The rest will be made up by central funding from the Department of Health.