SIXTY thousand letters are to be delivered to patients in Darlington outlining an out-of-hours medical service being pioneered in the town.
The system will come into effect on Thursday, April 1, and will change the way that urgent medical cover is provided to the public outside general practitioners' surgery hours.
Darlington Primary Care Trust and neighbouring authorities in the Tees Valley - Middlesbrough, Langbaurgh, Hartlepool and North Tees - are among the first in the country to test the initiative.
The move follows a new GP contract negotiated by doctors with the Government, which allows them to opt out of providing out-of-hours services.
Chief executive of the Darlington trust Colin Morris said: "Most of the country is adopting the new out-of-hours service between now and the end of the year. We have taken a lead here, which is tremendously exciting."
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