There's been a strong reaction to this morning's exclusive story about plans to close the new stroke unit at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

It's fewer than four months since controversial plans to reorganise hospital services in Darlington and County Durham went ahead.

The reorganisation - under the banner "Seizing The Future" - led to the closure of the A&E department at Bishop Auckland General Hospital.

The plan was to concentrate acute medical services in Darlington and Durham City.

But now there are plans to close the stroke unit at Darlington and focus stroke care at the University Hospital of North Durham.

Officials blame a looming staffing problem - there is a national shortage of stroke specialists. (Our health editor Barry Nelson will be looking at the crisis regarding stroke care in tomorrow's paper.) But shouldn't that have been taken into account when the Seizing The Future plan was drawn up?

Further disruption, controversy and anxiety for patients isn't good so soon after the plan was supposed to have been agreed at the end of long and painful public consultation.

The timing is poor. Hopefully, a solution can be found.