THE first 52 patients yesterday began moving into the region's latest hospital to be funded under the private finance initiative.
The £28m Hexham Hospital, serving the people of south-west Northumberland, replaces outdated buildings on the same site, which were intended as a temporary facility for soldiers returning from the Second World War.
It follows other hospitals in Durham, Bishop Auckland, in County Durham, and at Carlisle, in Cumbria, which were built with private finance.
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