Hospital's treatment centre night closures extended

Shotley Bridge Hospital will close for a further three months

An overnight closure of a hospital's urgent treatment centre has been extended until next year due to a lack of staff.

Shotley Bridge Hospital in County Durham was initially closed overnight for three months from July but will now remain shut until January 2026, County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust confirmed.

Residents have warned the nightly closure between 0:00 and 08:00 BST will remove local access to urgent care and place further pressure on NHS services in the region.

The trust said the "difficult decision" has been taken to allow for continued recruitment and stabilisation of the workforce.

Throughout the closure, an average of one patient was referred to University Hospital North Durham from the Shotley Bridge area, and there have reportedly been no incidents or complaints related to the temporary closure.

Campaigners have urged the government to intervene and halt the overnight closure, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Councillor Kathryn Rooney, Liberal Democrat for Consett North, has submitted a motion ahead of next week's Durham County Council meeting asking members to back the plea.

'No impact'

NHS officials are continuing to recruit advanced nurse practitioners to support the service, with one recently hired, but three staff members are set to leave, meaning the trust cannot safely staff the service overnight.

A County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust spokesperson said: "This remains a safety-first decision, reflecting the trust's duty to provide services that are safe, clinically appropriate and sustainable."

The trust said the treatment centre will continue to operate as normal between 08:00 and midnight, seven days a week.

Construction of a new hospital in Consett, which includes an in-patient rehabilitation ward and urgent treatment centre, is expected to be completed by 2030.

The continued overnight closure is not linked to the redevelopment plans for Shotley Bridge Community Hospital.

"The decision has no impact on the new hospital plans, which remain a long-term strategic development currently in the planning stages," the trust spokesperson added.