A CENTURY of history came to an end as staff marked the imminent closure of a North-East hospital.

Thousands of people have passed through the wards of Homelands Hospital, in Helmington Row, between Crook and Willington.

But at 101 years old, the building had been deemed unsuitable for modern care.

The community hospital began as a fever unit, treating diseases such as scarlet fever, tuberculosis and diphtheria.

The hospital changed with the times.

In 1956, it became a specialist unit providing respite care for older people.

Yesterday, the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospital NHS Trust announced the hospital would close on Friday, December 3. Past and present staff and visitors gathered for a goodbye party.

Sue Henderson, lead nurse at the hospital, said: "People chatted and talked all afternoon and we were all entertained. The party went well.

"We are sad to be leaving the team, for some of us it is an opportunity, others have chosen to retire."

Andrew Kenworthy, chief executive of Durham Dales Primary Care Trust, said: "Improved national standards for care of older people made it important to consider how services provided from Homelands could be re-provided in a more modern setting and to the highest possible modern standards.