DOCTORS in Darlington are busy writing "non-prescriptions" in the drive to stop over-use of antibiotics.

The prescriptionl pads are being used by the town's 11 surgeries for minor ailments patients commonly expect to be cured by prescribed drugs.

The slips explain how the body fights infections, and that viruses do not respond to antibiotics.

The "non-prescriptions" are part of an action plan drafted by Darlington Primary Care Trust to reduce the number of antibiotics and tranquilisers being prescribed unnecessarily to patients.

Every year, more than 71,500 antibiotic treatments are issued on prescription in the trust's area, at a cost of £300,000.

Many are to remedy coughs, colds, sore throats and ear infections -complaints that usually clear up on their own.

Trust pharmaceutical advisor Sally Bell said: "There is still the expectation among patients that when they visit their doctor they will walk away with a prescription of some kind when they don't really need one.

"The concern is that when they really do need them for a serious infection they won't work as well."