THE partial overnight closure of a busy casualty unit to allow staff to transfer to a new hospital went without a hitch, according to health bosses.
Ambulances carrying emergency cases were diverted from Dryburn Hospital in Durham to other North-East hospitals while Monday's overnight move to the University Hospital of North Durham, on a site adjacent to Dryburn, was completed.
Patients who are brought in by ambulance as 999 cases will now be treated at the new hospital's accident and emergency unit.
Meanwhile, the first batch of in-patients have been successfully moved from Dryburn wards to the new £97m hospital.
To mark the dawning of the new era, Stephen Mason, acting chief executive of North Durham Health Care NHS Trust, greeted the first patient at the new hospital - Veronica Shaw, of Stanley, County Durham.
A spokeswoman for the trust said the A&E transfer went "really well" and the emergency staff had had a relatively quiet night.
"Our staff are coping extremely well. we are really pleased at the way things are going," she added.
By mid-afternoon yesterday hospital staff had transferred patients from the intensive care unit, the coronary care unit and medical and surgical wards.
The rest of the Dryburn in-patient services should be transferred during this week, including children's and women's services.
Patients on the move - Page 10
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