TWO North-East hospitals earmarked for replacement are likely to need further investment , an NHS chief executive has admitted.

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust are still hoping to replace ageing hospitals sat North Tees and Hartlepool with a £300m super-hospital in Wynyard despite plans being put on hold until after the election.

But Alan Foster, chief executive of the North Tees and Hartlepool Trust, has now revealed that he is likely to seek permission to borrow up to £50m from the Government to ensure the existing hospitals remain in good condition.

In an interview with BBC Tees Mr Foster stressed that it was still his ambition to build a hospital at Wynyard but said some investment in the existing hospitals was needed.

Despite securing £200m towards the Wynyard project from private finance the North Tees and Hartlepool Trust was unable to get the go-ahead from the Government to borrow the remaining £100m from public funds and decided to put the project on hold.

Mr Foster told BBC Tees that it would not be possible to use the £200m secured for the Wynyard project and the trust would have to submit a new request for Government finance.

Meanwhile, Mr Foster said he wanted to hear the views of the public on the way forward.

“My ambition is still to build a new hospital. That is still the best solution for the people of North Tees and Hartlepool. In the absence of that, we need to maintain services to the best possible standard that we can,” he added.

The chief executive pointed out that both hospitals in North Tees and Hartlepool will eventually need to be replaced.