NURSES will soon play a pivotal role in helping sick Spa residents who need out-of-hours medical treatment.

Health chiefs want to streamline the service and reduce the number of on-call hours GPs are expected to work.

From July, 1 2003, patients registered at Corbett Medical Practice, Spa Medical Practice and Salters Medical Practice will have access to the scheme.

Currently, a locum GP covers weekends in Droitwich and town GPs rotate to cover weeknights. Calls to surgeries are fielded by a private Birmingham call centre and the ambulance service.

Under the new arrangements, residents must call their surgery and listen to a recorded message providing a medical hotline number.

Corbett practice manager Fran Westrop said it's vital people always call the surgery first because the number could change from time to time - or a receptionist may be in the office and can pass the call onto the duty doctor.

Hotline

The medical hotline number links patients to a team of triage nurses. They are based at Worcestershire Royal Hospital and funded by South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust (PCT). The nurses can give advice over the phone, ask the patient to come to the hospital and scramble a GP to their home. The treatment centre is not a drop-in clinic and appointments are vital.

Doctors from Ombersley, Great Whitley, Knightwick and Upton-on-Severn are also joining the Spa scheme and will soon operate under the new title of Droitwich and Rural Doctors GP Co-operative.

Dr Mike Pickworth, of Corbett Medical Practice, is lead GP for out-of-hours arrangements in Droitwich. He said: "We feel this is a very positive step in improving services for patients. The nurse triage system and PCT centre at the Worcestershire Royal Hospital have been available to Worcester patients for some time.We are delighted to share these excellent facilities."

Wheels

Health chiefs have also decided to provide a car and driver for doctors on call, but initially it will only be available at weekends. Fran told the Advertiser: "This means the GP can concentrate on the task ahead and without having to worry about finding locations in what is to become quite a large patch, with many rural locations. It also means the doctor can talk to patients or their family via his mobile phone, which in an emergency could save lives."

The initiative supports a Government drive to recruit more doctors. Fran said the high number of Asian doctors who moved to Britain in the 1960s are beginning to retire and not enough young people are attracted to the career.

"For a long time GPs have been on virtual 24 hour call out and nowadays people are not prepared to live that way," Fran explained. "Our out-of-hours service is supported by locum doctors who for example could cover a morning surgery if a GP has been up all night. It's hoped that by improving working conditions, more students will consider becoming a GP. It is in fact is a highly rewarding job."