A COUNCIL has thrown its weight behind the campaign to save Hartlepool University Hospital.

Easington District Council has warned that the closure would have a profound effect on the health and care of residents.

Its decision comes in the wake of a number of proposals in a health services evaluation entitled the Tees Review.

Among the recommendations under consideration are the closure of Hartlepool University and North Tees Hospitals with both being replaced with a large, new hospital.

Blackhall ward councillor for the Easington district, Rob Crute, who attended a recent meeting of the Save Our Hospital Campaign told his authority: "The campaigners are looking for wider support and asked if Easington as an authority would support them."

He also said that after next year patients will be able to choose where they receive hospital treatment which will impact on the whole of the area.

Easington council members agreed to support the anti-closure campaign and in a special resolution confirmed their commitment to working in partnership with the relevant agencies to provide and ensure primary and community health care facilities within the district.

It said this can only be achieved by maintaining the present acute facilities at the University Hospital, at Hartlepool.

The council's decision prompted a response from the County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority. A spokeswoman said: "No decision has been taken about the future of the hospital. The Tees Review is looking at the whole range of services provided for people living north of the Tees.

"However it has become clear that the current pattern of services are not sustainable which is why County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust, Hartlepool, Easington and North Tees Primary Care Trusts and representatives from local authorities have been working together to involve local people in the debate about the future of those services.''