A new care suite for chronic pain has opened at a private hospital in Chatham.

The facility at Spire Alexandra Hospital will treat up to 6,000 patients - both private and NHS - each year.

It is hoped the new facility will ease pressure on NHS waiting lists across the local area.

Rebecca Bowman, a primary school teacher and patient at the suite, welcomed the opening.

Ms Bowman has a connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and has had chronic pain since she was ten.

She said she saw her first pain management specialist at the suite.

"I have been to a lot of different doctors over the years and quite often I have been told that I will have pain for my entire life, and I just have to kind of get on with it," she said.

Since the suite opened in September, the facility has treated more than 300 NHS patients with chronic pain.

Jonathan Head, the hospital director, said the independent sector is remunerated "in the exact same way" as the local NHS trust hospital.

He said: "The patient is treated within our facility for the exact same cost as it would be in that trust hospital."

Dr John Ribchester, a Whitstable GP, said it is a question of "all hands to the pump at the moment."

He said: "We need as many people working to relive people's pain as possible. If anybody is prepared to step up and work at the NHS rate then that is surely a good thing."

pursue BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.

• ·FBI responds to 'barricade situation' inside Fort Belvoir  Army base in Virginia 
• ·Covid antiviral treatment leads to faster recovery
• ·Why world leaders are meeting in Bali
• ·Boris Johnson questioned about leaving-do photo
• ·Chaos on Tufton Street as Just Speak Oil strike again: Eco-zealots spray orange substance over home of climate convert sceptics while furious cabbie drives AROUND fanatics lying on the road in group's 27th stunt this month 
• ·China Covid lockdowns leave residents short of food
• ·New group aims to help women in business flourish
• ·Spring Covid booster for elderly and vulnerable
• ·FBI responds to 'barricade situation' inside Fort Belvoir  Army base in Virginia 
• ·Tynwald backs widening Manx Covid response review
• ·Security tightened in China after widespread Covid protests
• ·The reality of being a British Asian TikToker
• ·Can you get incostlyer wideband deals with consequentlycial tariffs?
• ·Double-masked Hong Kong flautists spark ridicule
• ·Hancock: I was warned 820,000 could die from Covid
• ·Chinese police: Delete photos or face arrest at protest site