Darlington Memorial Hospital needs more than £24m spending on it to bring it up to scratch, according to a new report.

The County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is drawing up a five-year plan to modernise the town's hospital.

With hospitals being built in Durham and Bishop Auckland in the past five years, the 1970s-era Darlington site is now showing its age.

There is particular concern about the state of operating theatres, the hospital's intensive care unit and wards.

These concerns are flagged up in a document called Strategic Direction, which recently went before the County Durham and Darlington trust's board.

In stark terms, the report warns: "Darlington Memorial Hospital now has the oldest environment and engineering infrastructure of the main acute sites and may pose risks for the future if significant investment is not made."

According to the report, the site, "now compares unfavourably in terms of patient environment with other hospitals across the Strategic Health Authority."

The report states that the site requires more than £24m to meet the necessary standard for all NHS buildings.

Because of the need to refurbish many areas of the hospital the report says that the ability of the trust to maintain activity and expand capacity - in line with Government expectations - will present significant challenges.

However, the fact that the neighbouring Pierremont Unit is being vacated by the County Durham Mental Health Trust could provide scope for temporarily transferring patients during upgrading work on the main hospital.

Hospitals across County Durham and Darlington need a total of £40m spending on them to bring them up to the necessary modern standard, the report adds.

In the same report, officials recommend that the privately-built University Hospital of North Durham should be extended by up to 68 beds.

When the £96m hospital opened its doors in 2001, there were immediate complaints about lack of space.

Even though the hospital it replaced - Dryburn - was having difficulties coping with increasing numbers of emergency medical admissions, the overall capacity was reduced from about 514 to 492.