HEALTH workers are looking forward to one of the biggest challenges of their careers with the completion of a hospital two months ahead of schedule.

Patients and staff at Bishop Auckland General Hospital will start moving into the £67m new accommodation in April.

John Saxby, chief executive of South Durham Health Care NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, said the early completion date was a bonus.

"Being able to move into our new hospital ahead of schedule is great news for both patients and staff, and our thanks go to our private partners and all our staff who have helped make this possible," he said.

"The new hospital has been a long time coming, but at last we are on the final straight.''

Perhaps the biggest challenge of all comes in transferring all the equipment, patients and staff, as well as continuing to run the existing hospital and Tindale Crescent Hospital.

An extensive programme of work is under way to make sure the transfer is safe and speedy and that disruption of services to patients is kept to a minimum.

Most of the existing ward accommodation at Bishop Auckland General Hospital is in huts which were built during the Second World War and were only intended to be in use for about 20 years.

The new 347-bed hospital will house clinical services presently provided at the General Hospital and Tindale Crescent Hospital under one roof.

The redevelopment, which started in June 1999, is being built under the Government's Private Finance Initiative, involving the trust and its partner Criterion Healthcare, which is a company consortium made up of Charterhouse Project Equity Investments, ISS Mediclean, Shepherd Securities and Healthcare Development Advisory.

General manager of Criterion Health Care, Keith Abel, said: "This delivery date has been achieved through the excellent working relationship we have with the trust and the diligence and co-operation of our partners in the PFI consortium.

"As a result, the people of Bishop Auckland will be able to benefit from this first class facility two months ahead of schedule."

Plans are being drawn up to transfer GP beds at Tindale Crescent into the two other wards at the present General Hospital. Bringing that forward will enable managers to release staff to undergo training.