MONTHS of careful planning are keeping South Durham hospitals off the sick list as health trust bosses gear up for the worst the winter months can through at them.

South Durham Health Care NHS Trust has been working closely with health and social service partners to prepare for a crisis such as last January's nationwide beds jam.

The trust's two main hospitals at Darlington and Bishop Auckland coped well with the flu chaos of early 2000, and staff are confident that new plans will make sure that this winter patients will receive the care they need, when they need it.

In many cases, this means looking after people in their own home, with the support of rapid response teams, now in place throughout South Durham, which provide short-term health and social care in times of crisis, and help prevent unnecessary hospital stays.

While a new project is up and running in the dales, the year-old Sedgefield service has been extended to provide rehabilitation for patients at home.

In Darlington, an acute respiratory service is being piloted to provide home support for patients with severe breathing difficulties such as chronic bronchitis. The town's supported discharge service has also been extended this winter to include rehabilitation.

The trust says both hospitals are well prepared to manage any winter increase in admissions.

Twelve extra beds have been opened at Darlington Memorial Hospital, not only to provide extra capacity, but also to reduce the need for medical patients to be cared for on non-medical wards, such as general surgery.

A medical admissions ward has been running successfully at Bishop Auckland General Hospital for a number of years, and a medical and surgical assessment ward is now established at Darlington.

In addition, a medical admissions ward is now in place providing support to both hospitals. Specially-trained nurses care for critically ill people on the wards to help prevent their condition deteriorating, and keep intensive care beds free.

Laura Robson, the trust's director of nursing and community services, said: "The work we did last year in preparing for the winter and holiday period really paid off. We have built on last year's successes and we hope that this year we are better prepared than ever."