A SCHEME which allows some psychiatric patients to be cared for in the community rather than in hospital has been praised by its users.

Patients in Darlington have given approval to the initiative, which provides emergency out-of-hours help in a crisis and daily visits and telephone calls.

Scheme manager Geoff Pole said hospital was not the proper place for some mentally ill patients.

"The package we offer looks beyond medical intervention and involves friends and families and other circumstances which might have triggered a relapse for someone."

He said patients and GPs were full of praise for the service at Darlington Memorial Hospital's Pierremont Unit, which has been run by County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust, since its launch in April.

One patient said he would have been devastated if he had been admitted to hospital.

"The nurses, over a period of months, have provided a professional, non-intrusive support to my family and myself. This has given me confidence to articulate my needs and thoughts, which continues to aid my recovery," he said.

Another man, whose son was suicidal, said: "The support team helped him enormously with daily visits and telephone contact.

"Without the intervention of the team he would probably have been hospitalised for a prolonged period."