A NORTH-EAST safety and survival centre has joined forces with a medical team to provide a one-stop shop.

The Nutec Centre for Safety at Haverton Hill, Billingham, is working with medical organisation Aberdeen Industrial Doctors (AID) on an initiative to meet industry's tight time schedules.

James Miller, managing director of Aberdeen Industrial Doctors, said: "Undergoing training and medical examinations are essential requirements for offshore personnel, but until now it has been difficult to have these programmed into the same time-frame. Now, with our medical teams based at Nutec's premises, both can be completed without any delay."

Nutec managing director Robin Archer said: "With personnel severely limited by their shift patterns offshore, we recognise how important it is to use their free time as efficiently as possible.

"Under our new arrangement, there will be no need to make separate appointments at different times for training and medical."

Well-equipped medical suites have been installed at Nutec's training centres - at Haverton Hill, Billingham, on Teesside, and near to Aberdeen International Airport at Dyce, Europe's busiest commercial heliport.