HEALTH leaders are to review the success of a new department set up to try to cut accident unit queues.

The primary care urgent care unit (PCUCU) is a GP-staffed department aimed at filtering out some of the patients going to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire's accident unit.

It initially only operated at weekends, but now runs 10am to 10pm every day.

It is located close to the accident unit and funded by the hospital and North Staffordshire's two health trusts.

The department was set up in the hope fewer patients would be admitted to a hospital bed because GPs would have more confidence to send them home.

Now the department's effectiveness is to be reviewed.

Hospital operations chief Vanessa Gardener said: "The review will be led by the PCT to look at actual numbers of patients going through PCUCU to see if it is effective."