The LA7 group of councils was set up last year to co-ordinate respond to the pandemic, and consists of County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, Sunderland and North and South Tyneside.
The letter also raised the issue of "high occupancy of non-Covid patients in our hospitals", which it points out has left fewer unoccupied beds than in the previous Covid waves in January and July. There were also concerns from NHS colleagues about "increasing and sustained pressure across the system".
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