THE man who has overseen the successful move from Dryburn to the new £97m North Durham hospital has been confirmed as chief executive.

Steven Mason, a father-of-five, who has been acting chief executive of the North Durham Health Care NHS Trust for the past six months, was appointed by the trust board last night.

Mr Mason joined the trust as its finance director in 1996, taking over as acting chief executive when his predecessor, Bill Worth, retired.

The hospital has been the centre of controversy because it is one of the first to be built as part of the Government's Private Finance Initiative scheme, which uses private money to build NHS hospitals.

Despite adverse publicity over what he has described as "teething troubles", Mr Mason said: "The University Hospital of North Durham is the newest in the country and provides patients and staff with the best of health care facilities.

"I want to work with front-line staff to make sure that patients get the best quality health care to match those facilities."

Once the transfer into the new hospital is completed, Mr Mason will oversee the £8m refurbishment of Shotley Bridge Community Hospital.