WAITING times have fallen sharply over the past year at County Durham and Darlington hospitals.

There are now no patients in Durham, Darlington or Bishop Auckland who have been waiting for in-patient treatment for more than nine months.

The numbers waiting for more than six months have been halved and no patients are waiting more than 17 weeks for an outpatient appointment.

Angela Ballatti, chairwoman of the NHS trust, said: "Patients are experiencing greatly improved access to our services thanks to the efforts of our staff.

"While there remain many challenges for the trust over the coming year, we are pleased with what has been achieved over the past 12 months."