STAFF and patients at North-East hospitals have helped promote World Mental Health Day at a series of events.

Balloons were released at the cenotaph, in the grounds of Darlington Memorial Hospital, on Thursday (October 10).

A similar event was held at the University Hospital of North Durham, on Monday (October 7), while a third will take place at Bishop Auckland General Hospital on Friday (October 11).

The balloon release at Bishop Auckland will take place between 11am and 12.30pm.

Staff will be handing out balloons to colleagues, patients and visitors.

They will ask them to write their fears on the balloons and then release them into the sky, to symbolise letting go and stopping worrying about problems.

Suzanne Irvine, health improvement lead for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We want to raise awareness about mental health issues, by getting people to consider their own mental health and to look after it better.

“World Mental Health Day is on October 10, but we’re running the balloon releases all week, to raise awareness with as many people as we can.”

During the events staff from the Trust’s mental health improvement team will be providing information and advice, as well as handing out balloons for people to release.

Figures from the North East Regional Public Health Observatory show about 14 per cent of adults in County Durham and Darlington suffer with depression, slightly above the national average.