A walk-in centre is to be established in Darlington after health chiefs secured a funding boost.
The Department of Health has agreed to provide Darlington Primary Care Trust with an additional £100,000 a year for the next two years to help staff the medical facility.
The money will help pay for specialist nursing staff for the centre, which is being built in the trust's King Street headquarters.
Head of primary care Lorraine Tostevin said: "We will be recruiting shortly but also hope to develop a rota so staff from GP practices and Darlington Memorial Hospital's accident and emergency unit will be able to gain first-hand experience of working in the walk-in centre."
The centre will provide support for Darlington's 11 GP practices, the out-of-hours service and the hospital's accident and emergency unit.
Depending on demand, it will open from 7am until the evening, and on bank holidays and at weekends.
People with minor injuries and ailments will be able to visit the centre without an appointment.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article