A WEBSITE providing a wealth of medical information has been launched by former health secretary Alan Milburn for the Darlington Primary Care Trust.

The site is an integral part of the organisation's information technology programme.

It features news stories involving the trust, and there is an array of information about board members, staff and the professional executive committee.

Health contact numbers and e-mail addresses are also featured, plus details of GPs' surgeries, dentists, clinics and pharmacists, including opening hours.

An electronic library includes the trust's newsletter, policies and protocols, the annual report, action plans and a guide to health services.

Web designers are also working on interactive health promotion games for children and there is a section devoted to the Patient Advisory Liaison Service.

A workforce development site includes a recruitment section, where people can apply online for trust jobs.

Mr Milburn, Darlington MP, said: "I am absolutely convinced that if you get information technology right in the NHS you can get the NHS right. There is a huge public thirst for information about health.

"By having your own website it symbolises the new relationship between the health service and the public - it has become a two-way relationship, as it should be, which is very important in terms of opening up the health service locally."

The site can be accessed at www.darlingtonpct.nhs.uk or www.darlingtonpct.com.