Supermarket to offer in-store GP

Sainsbury's is believed to be the first supermarket to host GPs

Patients will soon be able to pick up some shopping on a visit to their GP.

A supermarket in Greater Manchester is believed to be the first in England to offer doctor appointments.

Doctors from three different surgeries will work from a consulting room at a Sainsbury's store in Heaton Park, near Prestwich, from next month.

It is the first phase of a £126,000 pilot by the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust to provide extended-hours medical care.

It means NHS patients in the area can book appointments on selected evenings and weekend days.

The clinic will be staffed by doctors from private company Doctors in Store during the six-month pilot, which starts on 3 March.

Two other out-of-hours services are also likely to be opened in Rochdale town centre during the trial.

Patients' needs are changing and so it's important that we find ways to provide a more flexible and convenient service Dr Mohammed Jiva

The government announced last year that supermarkets and other private firms were being invited to bid to run GP surgeries as part of a drive to improve access to care in deprived areas.

The Sainsbury's surgery will run appointments, between 1830 GMT and 2130 GMT on Monday and Thursday, as well as 1100 GMT to 1500 GMT on Saturdays.

Dr Mohammed Jiva, who runs the company running the surgery, said: "Patients' needs are changing and so it's important that we find ways to provide a more flexible and convenient service.

Regular hours

"A number of practices in the local area have already come on board and once demand increases, we will explore the potential to roll this out to even further across the whole of Rochdale."

The GPs will work at the store in addition to their regular hours at local surgeries in Heywood and Middleton.

They will have full secure access to patient medical details and be able to make referrals or update records, just like a regular GP.

Patients can book appointments through their registered GP practice.

Dr Ruth Hussey, director of public health in the north west, said the supermarket surgery was an important development in health care.

"We know how important it is to make health services more convenient for people, especially for prevention of poor health as well as for treatment and care," she said.