TREATMENT for diabetics in Wear Valley is set to improve greatly, after a campaign to raise money for an eye laser overshot its target.

This week is National Diabetes Week and work has just begun on securing a second piece of eye equipment for Bishop Auckland General Hospital after an appeal to raise £35,000 for an eye laser was surpassed by about £12,000.

The eye laser equipment has now been bought, meaning Wear Valley patients no longer have to travel to Darlington for treatment. Waiting times for laser therapy will also be slashed.

Joyce Short, from the Bishop Auckland branch of Diabetes UK, welcomed the development.

She said: "It's not always easy to get to and from Darlington from Weardale or Bishop Auckland, especially if you have had drops in your eyes.

"So this piece of equipment was desperately needed."

More than a quarter of all diabetics will need laser therapy at some point in their lives and their treatment will hopefully be aided by a digital retina camera.

Consultant physician at Bishop Auckland General Hospital, Dr Alan McCulloch said: "You often find funds come in for a long time after the appeal has closed, as events like golf tournaments take place, which were organised last year.

"So with the extra money coming in for the diabetic eye laser we've launched another appeal to buy a digital retina camera."

The £60,000 piece of equipment uses cutting-edge technology to photograph the retina and spot any problems. It will be used by both Bishop Auckland General Hospital and Darlington Memorial Hospital.

The digital equipment images of the retina can be e-mailed to GPs while in consultation with patients, forwarded to another consultant for a second opinion or be used to diagnose problems by computer.

In South Durham there are an estimated 10,000 people suffering diabetes and about a third will have diabetic retinopathy, the commonest cause of blindness in people of working age.

Dr McCulloch said it is important people with diabetes have their eyes examined and tested once a year.

At the moment, the Bishop Auckland and Darlington hospitals both use ten-year-old analogue retinal cameras to screen patients, and they regularly break down.