Chester patients to be offered out of hours appointments

Jun 27 2008 by David Holmes, Chester Chronicle

PEOPLE will soon be able to book an appointment with a GP or practice nurse outside normal opening hours.

Western Cheshire Primary Care Trust hopes the extended hours will mean better access and greater convenience for patients.

Appointments will be available from 6.30-8pm Monday to Friday and from 10am-noon on Saturdays and can be booked up to two weeks in advance.

The service, available from August 4, will operate out of the following centres:

BLOB St Martin’s Clinic, Chester – Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings

BLOB Ellesmere Port Hospital – Monday to Friday and Saturday mornings

BLOB Helsby GP surgery – Monday and Tuesday

BLOB Tattenhall GP surgery – Wednesday to Saturday.

This service does not replace existing services for patients who need to see a GP straight away during the day or need urgent treatment when GP practices are closed.

In addition, The Knoll surgery at Frodsham has chosen to extend its own opening hours for the benefit of “working patients” but open to all. Appointments are now available from 8am-6.30pm Monday to Friday with the surgery open until 7pm.

PCT spokeswoman Anne-Marie Storey said the public perception about the availability of GPs was “skewed”.

She said: “GPs are available 24 hours a day. It is just that some of the service is provided by the Primary Care Trust rather than individual practices.”