PEOPLE in East Durham are being urged to ease their GPs' workload by visiting a chemist if they have a minor illness.

The Easington Primary Care Trust has launched its Care at the Chemist scheme to take the pressure off family doctors whose workload traditionally increases during winter, mainly due to patients with seasonal ailments.

The trust, which is responsible for health services in the area, hopes that people will go to pharmacists to get medicines for problems such as coughs, colds, headaches, fevers and sore throats, instead of booking an appointment with their GP.

Patients who ask for a doctor's appointment will be asked if they are suffering from one of the ailments covered by the scheme.

If so, they will be offered a referral to a pharmacist who has many of the medicines that a doctor would prescribe.

The trust said the scheme will give patients rapid access to advice and treatment for minor ailments.

The trust said the scheme would reduce the amount of time GPs spend dealing with winter illnesses, improving the availability of appointments for more serious problems.

Other benefits include encouraging patients to manage minor illnesses at home using medicines prescribed by pharmacists and reinforcing messages to patients about the risk of antibiotic resistance and the inappropriate use of antibiotics for treating viral illnesses.

Easington Primary Care Trust pharmacist Jane Laws said: "The Care at the Chemist scheme has been launched to coincide with the start of the winter season and will help to reduce GP workload during this very busy time of year.

"About 20 per cent to 40 per cent of daily consultations during the busy winter months are related to minor ailments such as coughs and colds. Many of these patients are exempt from prescription charges and tend to make appointments with their GP to receive prescriptions for treatments that could be supplied by pharmacists."

Under the scheme, patients who do not pay for prescriptions will still get medicines free of charge if they visit a pharmacist instead.

The scheme is only available to patients registered with a trust surgery.