HEALTH chiefs have defended a new out-of-hours system amid patients' claims that they have already been let down.

People living in Upper Wensleydale were assured at a meeting in March they would hardly notice the difference when GP surgeries relinquished responsibility for emergency cover at night and during the weekend from April 1.

However, Hawes county councillor and Richmondshire District Council leader Councillor John Blackie says he has already been contacted by patients unhappy with the response from the North Yorkshire Emergency Doctors network.

He said: "There seems to be a real crisis which the trust must deal with in the public spotlight or risk losing the public's confidence.'"

Coun Blackie said an ambulance had to be called because there was no doctor available to see a tourist who fell in Hawes on Easter Monday.

Other residents had been advised to make a 40-mile journey to the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, for assistance, he said.

Chief executive of the Hambleton and Richmondshire Primary Care Trust, Chris Long, has apologised for "teething problems" with the system but confirmed he would be investigating them as a matter of urgency.

Mr Long said he would be investigating if more use can be made of the Central Dales practice, based in Aysgarth.

He said: "It is early days in the operation of the new system and we are sorry that there have been teething problems, but we are all determined to ensure people in the Dales have a service which meets their needs.

"However, one aspect of the anecdotal evidence which worries us is that people are ringing the doctor rather than 999 in emergencies.

"We would like to emphasise that, if there is anything which is a potentially life-threatening accident or emergency, people should be dialling 999 immediately, rather than using the GP out-of-hours service."