EVENING clinics at a North-East hospital will be hailed today for helping to increase the number of patients receiving speedy treatment.

The annual report by Nigel Crisp, the NHS's chief executive, will praise the out-of-hours scheme introduced at the University Hospital of Hartlepool in late 2001.

The clinics, which are open from 5pm to 9pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, were initially set up to reduce waiting times for dermatology patients.

They have since been extended to offer appointments in cardiology, urology and plastic surgery, as well as dental treatment.

Because appointments are available outside conventional working hours, there has been a big reduction in the number of patients failing to attend.

In his report, Mr Crisp will pick out the Hartlepool clinics as one of the best examples of the way the NHS is changing to offer faster and more convenient treatment.

Instead of being forced to wait for admission to an acute hospital, more patients are being treated at outpatient clinics and GP surgeries.

Mr Crisp will announce that across the country the number of outpatient treatments rose by 14.9 per cent in the six months to September.

But the figures will reveal only a small increase in the number of treatments in hospitals, known as finished clinical episodes.

This will be seized upon by the Conservatives as evidence that the extra billions Labour is pouring into the NHS is failing to improve the standard of care.

Health Secretary John Reid said: "The days when the only way to have an operation was to have a long stay in hospital are over."

Sandra Sah, outpatients sister at the Hartlepool hospital, said: "These evening clinics are about giving people want they want, by increasing the options open to them and providing a far more convenient service."