AN Eckington woman has urged Vale people to write to their MP demanding a full out-of-hours GP service after waiting seven hours for treatment at the weekend.

Molly Smith feared the worst when her husband's condition deteriorated from what seemed a chest infection on Saturday.

Derek Smith almost died 20 years ago when an ulcer he was unaware of, haemorrhaged. Molly called her local surgery's out-of-hours number at 9.30pm only to be told she would face a lengthy wait.

"I thought it was happening all over again," she said. "I was told I would have to wait three hours because there wasn't any out-of-hours provision in Evesham," she said. "The sister rang back and said a doctor was on his way from Redditch.

"Hours later I rang back again and the sister said she had spoken to the driver and the doctor would be with us within an hour. By 3.30am I rang again and by that stage I was thinking of dialling 999."

The doctor eventually arrived SEVEN hours later at 4.30am in the morning, an hour outside the Government's target response time.

She said the doctor told her he had started work at 8pm and was dealing with a backlog going back to midday. And with the Solihull-based doctor asking directions to Studley it appears there were more calls waiting.

South Worcestershire Primary Care Trust reduced the midweek out-of-hours cover at the start of January. Previously an Evesham-based doctor used to cover the hours from 6.30pm-8am, Monday to Friday but those shifts are now covered by a Redditch-based GP who holds one-hour surgeries at Evesham casualty from 10pm-11pm and 3am-4am.

And for house calls there are only two doctors across the whole of Worcestershire providing an out-of-hours service based in Redditch, Kidderminster and Worcester.

Communications manager Janet Ferguson said: "It is fair to say last weekend was particularly busy with a rise in GP requests from 75 to 100 because it was the first weekend after the holiday period. Additionally there were two doctors off sick, which made it more difficult for the medical staff on duty in the Wychavon and Redditch areas."

But Mrs Smith added: "I would urge all your readers to write to their MP to try to get this cover back to Evesham before it is too late for somebody."