A NEW health authority ensuring patients' needs are met, held its first public meeting yesterday.
The Northumberland and Tyne and Wear Health Authority, established on Monday, will be the local headquarters of the National Health Service, responsible for overseeing the management of the system on behalf of the Department of Health.
Its job will be to monitor the region's hospital trusts, primary care trusts and the new care trust to ensure they are providing well-run services.
At its first public meeting, in Gateshead Civic Centre, the authority set out how it will operate, the challenges it faces and how it planned to address them. It will be based on the site of Newcastle General Hospital until new headquarters can be found.
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