PLANS are underway for the full-scale move of patients from Worcester's Castle Street hospital when the new multi-million pound hospital opens next March.

A fleet of ambulances will be on hand to ferry patients to the Newtown site on Sunday, March 24.

Elective surgery will be wound down leading up to the move, as will trauma cases, but day cases will continue.

Staff will also be urged not to take leave over the weekend of the move.

Cath Plain, the acute hospitals trust's director of nursing, said winter flu patterns had been examined to make sure the move did not clash with normal outbreaks.

"The pattern of winter months is very similar, so we will know what to expect," she told Worcester district community health council.

"There is always that possibility of a major disaster and, if we cannot move the patients, they will have to stay where they are."

Staff would also be taken to the new hospital before the opening to familiarise themselves with the building. An open day for the general public would be organised for January.