LEADERS at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have today confirmed that temporary arrangements at its three urgent care centres will remain in place for a further three months.

Since last December, urgent care centres at Hexham, North Tyneside and Wansbeck general hospitals have been open from 8am until midnight, seven days a week.

The trust says the temporary change in opening times was put in place as part of proactive resilience planning to maximise the skills of staff during the busy winter period.

And, despite being into spring, NHS services remain extremely busy.

At a meeting held today the trust's board unanimously agreed that it would be "wholly inappropriate" to deploy staff back at the current time, stating that vital expertise of nursing staff must be used where patients need them most overnight.

The trusts says data collected since the interim measure was put in place last December suggests there has been no detrimental impact on patient care or any significant change in the number of people accessing services overnight at The Northumbria emergency care hospital in Cramlington as a direct result.

Dr Jeremy Rushmer, executive medical director at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said: "There is no real evidence that the public are missing this service.

"All we have done is respond to when the majority of patients are using the urgent care services."

The announcement comes just a week after the trust's director of clinical support, consultant cardiologist Dr Colin Doig, admitted to members of Northumberland County Council's West Area Committee that it was "highly likely" the closure of the services between midnight and 8am would be extended.

* Pick up next week's Hexham Courant for local reaction to the news.