THE husband of an elderly patient has criticised "intolerable" temperatures at a showpiece new North-East hospital

Things got so sticky as temperatures soared at the £67m Bishop Auckland General Hospital that nurses had to wrap towels around their necks to mop up perspiration.

Peter Isle, 77, from Crook, County Durham, said things were so bad on ward 16 on Sunday that he was physically sick when he got home after visiting his wife, Katherine.

"It's a disgrace, it was so hot that the nurses had towels around their necks, tucked into their uniforms," said Mr Isle.

The retired engineer was horrified at the lack of air conditioning on the six-bedded bay where his 70 year old wife was recovering after a fall in November.

To make matters worse, it was not possible to fully open the single window serving the bay, said Mr Isle.

"The heat was absolutely intolerable in there and Katherine was really suffering. It was so bad that I was sick when I got home on Sunday night," said Mr Isle.

"I was told that they have air conditioning in a few places but it should be available for all of the patients when it gets really hot," he added.

Mr Isle is also concerned at night-time staffing levels after his wife had another fall, breaking her pelvis in the early hours of Monday after getting up to use a toilet.

Betty Todd, chairman of South Durham and Weardale Community Health Council, said: "We knew about the heat problems last year and we have had complaints this summer. It was a big mistake not putting in air conditioning."

Mrs Todd said the council had raised the issue with the trust and said: "Somebody is going to have to find a solution."

John Saxby, chief executive of the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said air conditioning was not widely available within the NHS.

"But if we have a repeat of this summer, we will have to look at whether we need to do something, perhaps we could bring in portable air-conditioning units," he said.

Mr Saxby said overnight staffing levels were up to strength. He said: "Unfortunately, patients can fall even when a nurse is standing ten feet away."