IT has been revealed that doctors are receiving twice the going rate for providing evening cover at a Darlington clinic.

The Northern Echo understands GPs on the rota for Darlington Primary Care Group's (PCG) clinic are being paid £80 an hour for weekday shifts.

However, a review of the scheme, at Darlington Memorial Hospital, yesterday revealed the 7pm to 11pm sessions were dealing with an average of fewer than seven patients a day.

Dr John Hopkins, who is leading the evaluation of the pilot, which started in May, suggested that a reasonable rate for GPs' evening work would be about £40 an hour - £10 more than locum doctors usually receive.

Although he refused to confirm the £80 figure quoted by a source close to the project, he said: "I think we need to balance the cost of recruiting doctors against the needs of a value for money service."

Linda Read, chief executive of the PCG, said the rate, set by Dr Roger James, the former chairman of the group who stood down earlier this year, was well below that paid to doctors for many services outside their contracts.

But she said the actual figure could not be released without approval of the PCG board.

She said: "It is a premium rate that we are paying in this project, because it is a pilot and we have need to attract GPs into the scheme. It is evening rate and it is for work outside of their normal contracts.

"We needed to set a premium rate to attract our GPs to get the project under way."

The pilot is not due to finish until October, but Mrs Read hoped a review, including whether it was value for money, would be made sooner.

Yesterday's PCG board meeting heard from doctors taking part in the scheme that the service was saving money by reducing admissions and giving longer consultations to patients who needed them.

Graham Girvan, chief officer of the Darlington and Teesdale Community Health Council, said: "It's an expensive scheme, but we will have to wait and see a bit further into the future as to whether that remains so or whether the number of patients picks up.