Nurses take over frontline of A&E in Middlesbrough

It is hoped that changes at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough will reduce pressure on its Accident and Emergency department.

Patients now arriving at A and E are initially assessed by a nurse.

Those not requiring emergency care are directed to healthcare in the community.

The South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, said that typically between 250 and 350 people arrive at the hospital's A&E each day, although some do not require emergency care and could have received their treatment elsewhere, such as their local pharmacy, GP or urgent appointments via extended hour GP centres.

The new model aims to change the way people access emergency care so that the hospital's Emergency Department can focus on those patients with life threatening illnesses or injuries which really need their help and expertise.

Watch Julia Barthram's report: