The Trust's communications team manages all media enquiries, plus requests for filming and photography throughout all our hospitals:

• University Hosital of North Durham
• Darlington Memorial Hospital
• Bishop Auckland Hospital
• Chester-le-Street Community Hospital
• Shotley Bridge Community Hospital

Press Enquiries

The team provides a service for journalists and can help with:

• General enquiries regarding all our hospitals and the services they offer
• Arranging experts to comment on a wide range of specialist and general healthcare issues
• Filming and photography requests
• Background briefings, facts, statistics and case studies to support stories about us

All media enquiries should be directed to the communications team on tel:  01325 74 3576 or 07971895195 or email: gillian.parsons@cddft.nhs.uk

If you have a media enquiry at evenings or at weekends, please call the switchboard number 01325  380100 and you will be directed to the on-call communications lead.

Photography and Filming

Requests regarding photography, filming, or interviews with staff or patients, must be made through our communications office. Telephone 01325 74 3576 or email gillian.parsons@cddft.nhs.uk. Out of hours please telephone switchboard on 01325 380100 and ask for the on call communications lead.
We place great emphasis on the need for the strictest confidentiality in respect of our patients. We will not divulge any information about a patient unless we are given permission from the individual, their guardian or their next of kin. All requests for interviewing/photographing patients must be made through the communications office. We strongly believe in respecting the rights of our patients to keep their clinical details confidential. We will only facilitate contact with patients if they are currently a patient within our hospitals.

Condition checks

These will be done only if the journalist making the request has the name of the patient concerned and the patient or his/her next of kin gives consent. Please do not phone the wards directly but contact the communications office. During normal working hours please telephone us on 01325 74 3576 or 07971895195. Outside these hours please telephone the switchboard on 01325 380100 and ask to speak to the on call communications lead.

Major incidents

Should a major incident occur, the Trust has a contingency plan that includes arrangements for the media. A press centre will be established and the media will be notified on arrival at the hospital. This will be set up for press conferences. You will be given regular updates on the situation and the opportunity for interviews, if appropriate. Depending on the type of incident, we will decide at the time whether photographs/filming will be permitted and how this will be facilitated.

All media enquiries should be directed to the communications team on tel:  01325 74 3576 or 07971895195 or email: gillian.parsons@cddft.nhs.uk

If you have a media enquiry at evenings or at weekends, please call the switchboard number 01325 380100 and you will be directed to the on-call communications lead.