Hospital wards get £6.5m upgrade

Wards and units which care for mentally ill patients and those with learning disabilities are to be upgraded.

Over the next two years Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust will spend £6.5m on improving 55 wards.

The trust also intends to eventually replace ageing hospitals including Cherry Knowles in Sunderland.

Facilities to benefit in the short-term include Prudhoe Hospital in Northumberland, South Tyneside Hospital and Newcastle General Hospital.

Dr. Andrew Fairbairn, acting chief executive, said: "In line with other mental health and disability trusts across the country, we have many buildings that were not designed to provide modern services, and do not offer the standard of environment we believe our patients deserve.

"We are investing in good quality facilities that provide the kind of environments our patients deserve."