HEALTH bosses have given their assurance that a County Durham hospital ward will not close despite pressures on medical cover.

The in-patient ward at Sedgefield Community Hospital was under threat of a temporary closure but arrangements for "appropriate" cover have now been put in place to keep its doors open.

A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “The safety and well-being of patients is our priority and it is only right that we constantly review pressures on services and are prepared to take action if we feel we cannot be assured of delivering the high quality care our patients deserve and expect."

The ward is currently facing staffing pressures "in terms of medical cover and difficulty with recruiting to vacancies" which the trust to consider a temporary closure.

It has given rise to concerns from Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson who was notified about the situation when he was approached by a relative of a hospital employee.

Mr Wilson told The Northern Echo he was concerned about the future of the hospital in the medium and long term.

"It was going to close but I think because of our intervention they have sorted it out and found a member of staff to cover," he said. "There seems to be ongoing pressures in the whole of the NHS and in the trust which we are monitoring but this came out of the blue."

The trust added although it would not close the ward "at this time" it would be working with the local Clinical Commissioning Groups on "sustainable services going forward".