AN international recruitment drive has been launched in east Durham in a bid to overcome a shortage of doctors and dentists in the area.

Easington Primary Care Trust's (PCT) initiative is called The Big Project, and is a five year planned programme to help meet a projected medical shortfall.

The shortfall would result in too few doctors and dentists to meet the population needs.

The Big Project is aimed locally, nationally and internationally, and will be offering a range of initiatives to try to tempt GPs and dentists into the deprived area.

At present, 37 per cent of doctors working in Easington are over 58 and nearly 10 per cent are over 60.

This is well above the national average and has significant implications for workforce planning.

Easington needs to recruit two to three new doctors each year just to replace those who retire.

Four dentists have been recruited to the area in the past few months, but there are still vacancies.

The PCT has now appointed a director to steer through The Big Project.

Linda van Zwanenber, will be working alongside the Northern Deanery and County Durham and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority.

And this week a team from the PCT will visit Dusseldorf in Germany to meet with local doctors who have expressed an interest in working in the district.

There are a total of 17 general practices in the Easington PCT area working from 32 sites, including branch surgeries.

The practices range in size from 2,400 to 15,000 patients.

The area also has 17 dentists who work from ten dental surgeries.

The PCT recruitment drive is aimed at maintaining the status quo and, where necessary, expanding it.