A health chief admitted yesterday that the authorities would find it almost impossible to prevent rogue doctors striking in the region again.

Darlington Primary Care Trust chief executive Colin Morris spoke out following the conviction of a GP who used hidden cameras in his surgery to film sex attacks on patients.

In May, Syed Amjad Husain was jailed for three-and-half years. Husain, who practised at Darlington's Orchard Court surgery, admitted indecently assaulting children aged seven and nine, a 15-year-old, and women aged 32 and 74.

He also confessed to filming the attacks and downloading child pornography on his computer, including images of girls as young as four.

Mr Morris told councillors yesterday that the high-profile case had "consumed a phenomenal amount of resources" and was "a really difficult issue to manage".

But he said: "It just goes to show that, despite all of the systems we can put in place, if somebody wants to be deviant, it's quite hard to stop that happening. I think the reality is that we can never prevent those things happening."

The trust is evaluating a report by the National Patient Safety Agency, with a view to creating an action plan to reduce the chances of such an incident occurring again.

Husain, who was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court in May, was first arrested last year.

The trust set up a helpline for worried patients and wrote to more than 6,000 people about his suspension.

Mr Morris said: "We are quite pleased in terms of the way we addressed it."