PROPOSALS for how an extra £35.9m can be spent on improving health in a deprived area have been revealed.

Under a new funding formula, the Department of Health has awarded the sum to Easington Primary Care Trust (PCT), which covers Easington and east Durham, over the next three years.

It will take the trust's allocation up to £124m by 2005-2006, and represents an increase of just over 40 per cent.

Easington is one of the few areas in the country to be awarded such a large sum after being identified as one of the most deprived.

Following the announcement of the increase, the PCT will now consider how it can be integrated into a three-year development plan.

Penelope Young, chairwoman of the PCT, said it would be spent on increasing nurses, providing specialist GP services and mental health services.

"We will be looking at increasing the nursing capacity so that we can deliver more services. We have had great success with coronary heart disease, and we would look to take that into diabetes."

Ms Young said mental health treatment had been identified as another area in need of improvement.

"We need a lot more mental health services and we can now look at investing in that area," she said.

"We are piloting a psychology therapies service with people going to see a psychologist at a local practice rather than going to hospital, and that might be an area we might want to expand."

Ms Young said the money would also go towards training some GPs as specialists, enabling people to access further expertise locally.

"We are keen to get as many services as possible out of hospitals and into the community," she said.

"We have GPs who are interested in opthalmology, dermatology and urology, and we will be working with them so that people will not have to go into hospital or travel far."

Ms Young said that while she was delighted by news of the extra funding, she hoped it would represent a genuine increase. Easington MP John Cummings said: "I am absolutely delighted that the Government Minister has responded in such a positive fashion to representations that have been made to redress the under-funding of the primary healthcare trust in Easington. It has been grossly under-funded for so many years. This extra money will permit the trust to carry out much overdue work in improving the health of my constituents."