THE short-listed sites for a new £420m hospital have been revealed.

The new facility, serving east Durham, Hartlepool and patients north of Stockton could be built at either Wynyard Business Park or Green Farm in Wolviston, just off the A19.

Concern has already been raised as to how some patients would reach either of the remote locations.

North Tees University Hospital in Stockton and University Hospital of Hartlepool will be replaced by the new super-hospital.

The facility, which could be treating patients by 2013, will be one of the first in the country to have all single rooms.

The North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust is launching a three-month consultation period on June 3 when people from Hartlepool, Sedgefield, Easington and Stockton will be able to voice their opinions on plans for the new hospital.

Sites disregarded for the new unit include the two present hospital locations, land at Queens Meadow and Golden Flatts in Hartlepool, Stockton's North Shore and the Portrack Interchange Business Park south of Billingham.

Brian Milnes, a transport campaigner from Teesside, said: "We are quite concerned about the proposed locations for this hospital. How are people going to get there if they don't have a car? There is no rail link and the nearest bus stop is about a mile away. People are going to be very mad about this."

Carole Landrick, from Momentum: Pathways to Healthcare, which is developing the plans, said: "Not only are we moving with the times but we are aiming to be at the forefront of how modern health services are provided.

"Ultimately this could make our local healthcare system the envy of the country."