A DAMNING report into North-East sexual health facilities suggests the region could be losing the battle against disease.

Fewer than one in three patients going to genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in the North-East are seen within 48 hours, according the Terrence Higgins Trust.

It is the worst performance of all nine English regions and means that many patients continue to spread disease before they are treated.

The figures coincide with a recent report showing that the North-East has seen a big increase in the number of people diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections (STI).

The 9.7 per cent rise from 21,202 in 2003 to 23,251 last year suggests that many people are ignoring advice about using condoms to prevent disease transmission.

The North-East increase in the number of new cases compares to the national increase of two per cent during the same period.

The Government has set a target that by 2008 everyone should be offered a GUM appointment within 48 hours.

But the Terrence Higgins Trust is concerned that an extra £300m a year promised by the Goverment next year may be spent on non-sexual health services.

Nick Partridge, chief executive of the trust said "With current waiting times for clinic appointments, it is no wonder STI rates are continuing to rise.

"Over forty per cent of people in the North-East have to wait more than two weeks to be seen. It is simply not good enough.

"We now have the worst levels of sexual health since the Second World War. We must use this opportunity to turn things around."

In Yorkshire and Humberside, which saw a small fall in the number of sexual disease diagnoses last year, 38 per cent of people attending GUM clinics were seen within 48 hours.

A spokesman for County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We are trying to work with primary care trusts to improve access to GUM clinics for patients in County Durham and Darlington."

A spokeswoman for South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We have a system in place which means that patients are encouraged to ring in to see if there is a cancelled appointment.

"If someone has to come back to see a doctor at a later date, the nurses will always advise patients not to have sex if they are still infected."