ACCIDENT victims could soon be seen by physiotherapists and social workers when they go to hospital as part of a scheme to speed up treatment.

Hospital bosses in County Durham have joined a nationwide drive to improve casualty units.

New ways of working at the University Hospital of North Durham could involve a separate walk-in centre for less serious cases, staffed by trained nurse practitioners. It could also mean some patients with soft tissue injuries will be treated by A&E physiotherapists.

There is also the possibility of a social worker being stationed in A&E to treat elderly patients who need extra help at home before they can be discharged following treatment.

Managers are also talking to ambulance bosses about further training for paramedics so they can tell when patients can safely be left in their own homes rather than taken into increasingly busy acute hospitals.

Called the Emergency Services Collaborate, it aims to increase the percentage of patients who are seen, treated and discharged at their local accident and emergency unit within four hours.

Former nurse Chris Parry has been appointed as programme manager at the University Hospital of North Durham.

Great strides have already been made to improve treatment times since the transfer from Dryburn Hospital.

A recent influx of consultants, doctors and specialist nurses has already dramatically reduced waiting times.

Figures for the last complete quarter show an average of 78 per cent of patients attending casualty in Durham were seen and discharged within four hours.

Mrs Parry aims to improve the figure by between 90 and 100 per cent by the end of next month.

She said: "We are looking at the patient flow through A&E, seeing where the bottlenecks occur and deciding what we need to do to reduce delay. Many patients come into A&E because they can't get an appointment to see their GP. Does this mean we need a walk-in centre similar to the one in Newcastle?"

The North Durham team is due to attend the national launch of the second wave of the Emergency Collaborative at Canary Wharf, London, on Monday.