COUNCILLORS and health officials have encouraged people to think carefully before making an appointment with their GP and to make the most of alternative services available.

Martin Phillips, chief officer for Darlington Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) said patients needed to be more realistic when they access health care as the NHS tries to adapt in the face of increased pressure on finances and staff.

Mr Phillips attended a meeting of Darlington Borough Council’s health scrutiny committee where members discussed the state of the NHS in the town, particularly GP services.

Speakers shared anecdotes of different types of patients who they said needed educating about the options available to them.

Committee chairwoman Wendy Newall said she had spoken to a number of people who feel they are unlikely to get an appointment at their GP surgery, which meant they were attending A&E unnecessarily.

She urged the CCG to publicise the different options for health advice available in the town, in particular a number of trial projects operating in the town until spring to make more appointments available to patients.

Diane Lax, a representative of Darlington Healthwatch, which monitors patients’ views on the local health service, said many patients were still wedded to the idea of only seeing their own GP – and expected to always get a same day appointment.

She added: “We had a call from a lady who complained that she could not get an appointment with her GP that day – I explained that she could probably see a doctor that day if she was willing to be flexible but wanting a specific doctor would mean a wait.

“She insisted she wanted to see her GP – that’s the sort of attitude we need to work with people on.”

Mr Phillips agreed that patients needed to be more open to different sources of health advice and spoke up on behalf of GP receptionists, who he said were often criticised for asking questions before booking an appointment.

He added: “Receptionists have a reputation as dragons but they have to ask questions to get people to the right service. The GP may not be the right person to go and see.

“Going to the GP for every ailment is ingrained in most people – we shouldn’t blame people for that, it’s the way the system has been set up.

“People should be directed to other services in some cases and it will take time for people to get used to that.”

* The eleven GP surgeries in Darlington teamed up last year to trial a number of projects aimed at increasing choice for patients.

Routine clinics are available on Saturdays and Sundays from 8am to 2pm held in an annexe to the Denmark Street medical centre and are open to patients from all Darlington GP practices, who must book an appointment in advance through their own GP surgery.

An evening telephone advice service also operates Monday to Friday, between 6pm and 10pm, accessible by calling the NHS helpline 111.

Practices are also looking at ways to pool resources and clinical expertise and also make it possible for a GP to ask another specialist GP in the town for their advice and opinion, which doctors hope will reduce the need for patients to be seen at a hospital outpatient clinic.