HEALTH officials are seeking a suitable site for a £15m mental hospital.

They say there is an urgent need to replace the outdated Pierremont Unit at Darlington Memorial Hospital with a modern acute mental health unit.

With about 1,600 admissions annually to adult in-patient units in Darlington and the rest of County Durham, mental illness rates alongside cancer and coronary heart disease as a major health problem.

Since the closure of Winterton Hospital, in Sedgefield, in May 1998, acutely ill psychiatric patients in the Darlington area have been cared for at the Pierremont Unit.

But this has always been seen as an interim measure until better facilities can be provided.

Now mental health experts want to make a fresh start and build a purpose-built hospital to meet modern standards of care.

Officials say the facilities at the existing Darlington unit, which include dormitory-style accommodation, are no longer acceptable.

This week, Mr Colin Morris, director of social services for Darlington Borough Council, briefed a council cabinet meeting on the proposal.

He said that in a more modern unit patients would have their own rooms and the emphasis would be on community support and day patient care. The difficulty will be finding the right site in a town which has already seen protests over the decision to relocate Darlington Football Club from Feethams to Neasham Road.

Health officials say they are "investigating the viability and practicality of a number of locations within Darlington."

Once a site has been chosen, County Durham and Darlington Priority Health Services NHS Trust will need to submit a planning application to the local authority.

Because the scheme is considered to be a high priority, the NHS is prepared to pay for the scheme out of public funds rather than wait for a complex private finance initiative scheme to be approved