PATIENTS needing emergency doctors in the upper dales are to have their calls automatically transferred to the out-of-hours service.

The move by Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust follows complaints about the operation of a new system.

The Central Dales surgery, at Aysgarth, used to provide its own overnight and weekend cover, but opted into the North Yorkshire Emergency Doctors scheme from April 1.

Under the new arrangement, callers to the surgery were given a recorded message telling them to call another number. Details of the second call were relayed to the Catterick Primary Care Centre and a doctor rang the caller back.

Residents in the Hawes area claimed the system failed several times.

Concern was expressed about people with insufficient change or charge on mobile phones to make two calls, and those without paper and pen to write down the second number.

Following the complaints, an emergency meeting was held between Chris Long, chief executive of the PCT, and representatives of the practice and doctors' scheme.

Mr Long announced on Wednesday that patients' out-of-hours calls would be automatically relayed to the emergency doctors in future.

From tonight, the automatic transfer should be in place.

"We recognised there was a nuisance factor for people having to ring the surgery, obtain the number of the out-of-hours service from a recorded message and then having to ring that number," said Mr Long.

He urged people who encountered problems to contact the PCT.

"I would reassure people that they have no less cover out-of-hours than they enjoyed prior to April 1."

He said a detailed review had shown no complaints were made directly to the practice or North Yorkshire Emergency Doctors.

"NYED have reviewed every call which they have taken since April 1 in terms of care and management, and every call was handled appropriately," he said.

"Neither the practice nor NYED have received any complaints about the service and, indeed, the practice has already had some positive feedback about its operation from those who have actually used the service."

The meeting also discussed the fact that the Aysgarth surgery had not so far been used as a satellite primary care centre.

While there was no record of any patient objecting to being asked to go to Catterick, or having problems getting there, officials were keen to see the Aysgarth premises put to use when a patient's medical or personal condition, or the number of patients needing to see a doctor, justified it.The service had operated in Swaledale and other rural areas, including the North York Moors, for several years and worked well, he said.

* Hague speaks out:

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