MEDICS at a North-East hospital have scooped a national award for being innovators in their field.

Dr Vince Connolly and his team from James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, won the acute medicine category at the Hospital Doctor Awards in London.

The judges were impressed at how the acute medicine directorate at James Cook had taken advantage of the recent multi-million pound redevelopment of the 1,000-bed hospital.

The team decided to turn the old medical admissions unit from an inpatients service to, primarily, an outpatient service.

Now this "front of house" service includes a 24-bed assessment unit with a resuscitation room for emergencies and a rapid access clinic next door - built in partnership with Middlesbrough Primary Care Trust -which is also used as an out-of-hours service by GPs.

With more than 100 staff, the directorate also includes a bed management team and a seven days a week "fast access" team to assess patients' needs when they are leaving hospital.

Competition judge Dr John Collins, a general physician at the Royal Brompton Hospital, in London, praised the way in which the hospital worked so closely with primary care.

He also praised the atmosphere at the Teesside trust.

"Dr Connolly had fostered a cheerful, calm and energetic atmosphere, and the standards of cleanliness are superb."

Dr Connolly, clinical director of acute medicine, said: "I'm absolutely delighted we've won this award.

"It recognises all the hard work that has gone on in all the different strands of the directorate and is a credit to the staff.

The acute assessment unit at James Cook sees about 1,500 patients a month and between 45 and 50 per cent of people go home within 24-hours.