THE creation of a single NHS hospital trust covering the whole of County Durham has moved a step nearer.

The South Durham Health Care NHS Trust board has agreed to back a plan to merge with the North Durham Health Care NHS Trust.

The plan was drawn up by top surgeon Professor Ara Darzi, who was called in to try to solve capacity problems in the County Durham hospital service.

A central part of the plan is to merge the two acute hospital trusts, which run Darlington Memorial Hospital, the University Hospital of North Durham and Bishop Auckland General Hospital into a single organisation.

The South Durham board supported the creation of a new trust to serve County Durham and Darlington from next October, and asked Health Secretary Alan Milburn to begin the formal process which will lead to public consultation over the changes.

A spokesman for County Durham and Darlington Health Authority said agreement in principle to the merger had now been given by both trust boards.

"A steering team and working group have been set up to look at the proposals more closely. It includes representatives of both trusts, the health authority and the primary care groups," the spokesman said.

While the move is expected to get the go-ahead, concern has been expressed that some patients may have to travel from one end of County Durham to the other to be treated.

Bishop Auckland General Hospital, which is due to re-open next month following extensive upgrading, is expected to become the main centre for routine surgery in the county while the Durham and Darlington hospitals concentrate more on urgent and emergency work