Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital has added four new hospital beds to a medical surgical unit, hospital officials announced this week.

The hospital got approval from the Department of Health on Tuesday to add the beds to the MedSurg 4 unit, which accommodates patients needing post-operative care following orthopedic, trauma, spinal and general surgeries.

The new beds are in addition to the 27 beds that the hospital has converted from transitional care unit beds to acute care beds in MedSurg 5, a general medical surgical unit.

"The community's pressing need for more hospital beds has been a strategic priority at our hospital for several years," hospital president and CEO Roger Seaver said in a statement. "With the addition of these beds, we can anticipate reduced wait times for patients."