NURSES on a North-East psychiatric ward have expressed fears that patients may needlessly be put at risk if they are transferred to a new hospital 20 miles away.

In a strongly-worded letter to health trust chief executive Sandy Taylor, staff at the secure Tony White unit, at Durham's County Hospital, said it was extremely likely to result in the serious injury, or death, of a patient during transfer.

Nurses on the ward, which houses a seclusion unit, said there had been several incidents which had required the transfer of patients to the hospital under restraint, due to their behaviour.

They fear that if plans are approved to close the unit and move it to the new £20m West Park Hospital, in Darlington, then transferring some patients would present serious concerns because of the distance involved.

In the letter to Mr Taylor, who is head of County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust, staff said police were not always able to give support in moving such patients and, on occasions, had refused due to the risks.

They also said it would be impossible to comply with industry guidelines that states a patient should not be restrained for a lengthy period and that resuscitation facilities should be available during transfer.

The closure would also be contradictory to the National Service Framework for Mental Health, which stated there should be timely access to an appropriate hospital bed as close to home as possible, the workers said.

However, the trust said that two external NHS monitoring organisations had raised concerns about the unit's unsatisfactory environment and its unsuitability for the care of people with severe mental health problems.

To address the concerns, it said it wanted to move the unit for two years until a new hospital is built in north Durham.

Officials maintain the vast majority of patients give no cause for concern.

Staff said evidence used by the trust to support the move was, at best, misleading.

A trust spokeswoman said: "We are inviting people to comment on the proposals and will consider all responses as part of the consultation process."