Worries over out-of-hours GPs

Powys Local Health Board will decide who runs the service from 2005

Some elderly people in mid Wales have been asked to travel up to 30 miles to hospital with no means of transport after GPs were replaced with an out-of-hours service, it is claimed.

Complaints about the service have now led to a public meeting to discuss the problems with officials.

Since October doctors in Radnorshire no longer provide medical cover at nights and weekends, which is now offered by the Shropshire Doctors' Co-operative - known as Shropdoc.

The head of the new service says people have tended to take time to understand it and it means GPs do not have to be on call 24 hours a day.

Some elderly people have had to drive their unwell partners several miles to Builth Wells Derek Law, Llandrindod Wells' Mayor

Shropdoc allows people to telephone a central contact number when the surgery is closed.

A doctor then call them back to analyse their need and if necessary they are asked to attend the nearest Shropdoc base at Builth Wells Community Hospital.

Alternatively, the Shropdoc doctor on call can call on the patient depending on clinical need.

Derek Law, mayor of Llandrindod Wells, said one patient using the new scheme had had to wait three-and-a-half hours for an ambulance.

Breathing difficulties

"A significant number of elderly people with problems have been expected to transport themselves by car to Builth Wells hospital or try and find someone to take them in the middle of the night," said Mr Law.

"Some elderly people have had to drive their unwell partners several miles to Builth Wells."

Mr Law cited one example where a woman from Llandrindod Wells who had breathing difficulties contacted Shropdoc on a Sunday afternoon.

"It was decided that she needed an ambulance but that didn't arrive for three-and-a-half hours and even then she was taken to her local hospital at Llandrindod Wells."

But Shropdoc's general manager, Graham Fell, said all calls were dealt with on a clinical need.

The meeting will be in Llandrindod Wells on Monday

"Any problems with ambulance delays has to do with the ambulance service because all our doctors can do is phone for an ambulance if they think it is necessary," he said.

"And elderly patients are only being asked to travel if it is clinically appropriate."

The Shropdoc scheme in Radnorshire is staffed by GPs from Rhayader, Llandrindod Wells, Builth Wells Hay-on-Wye and Talgarth on a rota basis.

The scheme has handled 2,000 calls in its five months to date.

"In the past every doctor has been on call 24 hours a day every day in the year but this scheme provides a wide-awake GP which is always available to the public," said Mr Fell.

At present out-of-hours doctors' services are mainly funded by GP practices, but from January 2005 that responsibility will fall on local health boards.

"Radnorshire is the eighth area we cover and we have found in the past that people have not fully understood the change of system in the first six months of operation," said Mr Fell.

The meeting has called by the League of Friends of Llandrindod Wells and will be at the town's Metropole Hotel at 1430 GMT on Monday.