PATIENTS will cease to be admitted to a North-East psychiatric ward after controversial plans were given the go-ahead.

The Tony White Unit at the County Hospital, in Durham, will be temporarily moved to Darlington's new West Park development by March 31.

It follows a three-month public consultation by County Durham and Darlington Priority Services Trust.

Staff at the unit, which provides intensive care for mentally ill patients, voiced concerns about how users would be transferred safely between the two destinations.

As of Monday, the Tony White unit will stop taking admissions and it will be closed at the end of the month.

West Park Hospital will provide psychiatric intensive care for the whole of County Durham and Darlington.

Health bosses said services for the north of the county would transfer back to Durham when a new hospital is opened in the next few years.

If approved by Primary Care Trusts and Tees Valley Strategic Health Authority, the new facility will be built on the outskirts of Durham City and could be open by the end of 2007.

Harry Cronin, director of nursing and adult mental health services at the trust, said: "A safe, secure and therapeutic environment is crucial to the care and treatment of people with severe mental health problems, and we have a duty to provide our service users and staff with the best environment possible."

The £20m West Park Hospital opened in December last year and provides mental health services for adults and older people in the south of Durham and Darlington.