Coronavirus ‘hot sites’ that will treat patients with the deadly virus are being planned for County Durham.
The sites will be used to diagnose and advise coronavirus patients who are not in hospital.
Patients will be directed to the hubs for face-to-face assessments after being triaged remotely by NHS 111 or their GP.
Led by the NHS County Durham CCG, the move comes after other areas have also implemented similar practices.
The exact locations of the centres has not been revealed as health leaders say they do not want people turning up without an appointment.
A spokesperson for NHS County Durham CCG said: “NHS County Durham CCG are planning a number of hot sites across County Durham to deal with Covid-19 patients that need to be seen in the community.
“They will be put into place as and when the workload escalates and we have to scale back work done in local surgeries.
“This allows us to free up primary care staff to support our acute hospitals, as that is where the early surge in cases is likely to impact in the early weeks.
“As this pressure eases we expect the pressure to be in community services and that will then be where we concentrate our workforce.
“Access to the hot clinics will be through the patient’s own GP practice and ONLY following remote triage and if a face to face appointment is considered clinically essential.
“Patients must not turn up to these sites without a booked appointment.”
