A SCANNING session is being held at a North-East hospital today after equipment failure led to a backlog of cases.

Bosses at the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham, have thanked staff who volunteered to work extra hours to help patients get the diagnostic scans they need.

It follows the breakdown of a computerised tomography (CT) body scanner this week.

While the hospital's CT scanner is now working, the 36-hour breakdown meant that some people, including some cancer patients, were unable to have scans.

Martin Hutchinson, of the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs hospitals in Durham, Darlington and Bishop Auckland, said: "We are planning an all-day scanning session on Saturday to catch up."

He said the delay was because the four-year-old scanner required a replacement part that had to be ordered.

He said: "Patients with conditions such as cancer are given priority, and we are grateful to those members of staff who have volunteered to help us out."

He revealed that a more modern CT scanner has been ordered and was expected to be installed later this year.