Cash bonuses, awarded for being one of the country's top hospitals, will be spent on running new wards and theatres in Bradford.

Up to £1 million will be given to Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust after it retained its three-star status in the latest Government performance ratings.

Secretary of State for Health Alan Milburn said the financial bonus is being given to the best hospitals - not only as a reward, but also to encourage others to try to raise their standards.

Chief executive of the trust David Jackson said he was pleasantly surprised by the announcement.

"We always find a good use for money," he said.

And with Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospitals set to undergo a £116 million transformation, adding more beds to the current 1,000-plus, the money will be especially welcome.

"We hope to expand capacity in the short term to hit tough targets in the next couple of years," said Mr Jack-son.

"If we were to get up to £1 million, we would want to support the running of new wards and theatres and increase capacity in the hospital."

The success could also provide the key to gaining Foundation Hospital status.

Bradford has already expressed interest to the Department of Health in becoming a Foundation Hospital.

Mr Jackson said after their success in hitting Govern-ment targets, he expects a positive response.

By early next year, it is expected that 12 Trusts in the country will be established as Foundation Trusts.

They will continue to operate to NHS standards, be subject to NHS inspection and provide NHS services to patients.

But they will be held to account through agreements and cash for performance contracts negotiated with service commissioners, rather than being managed by the Department of Health.

The intention is to encourage entrepreneurial attitudes in the public sector by allowing more self-management and offering greater choice for patients by increasing the number of service providers.

Mr Jackson said: "As a three-star trust, we were asked if we would consider becoming a Foundation Hosp-ital.

"We expressed an interest and said we would like to know more about it.

"I am expecting to be asked in the near future if Bradford would want this."