THE Government has announced it is investing an extra £9.6m to improve access to GPs, modernise surgeries and improve out-of-hospital care in the North-East.

For patients this will mean more evening and weekend appointments in many parts of the region with the option in some places of telephone, email or video consultations.

One of the beneficiaries is Darlington where the extra funding will allow a pilot scheme providing bookable appointments to see a GP or a nurse on a Saturday to continue.

It will also allow the evening advice service via the 111 NHS urgent care helpline to continue, enabling patients to speak to a GP in Darlington for advice between 6pm and 10pm on weekday evenings.

The extra funding will also be used to develop a new primary care centre within the A&E department at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

The Koh Practice in Hartlepool will also be extended and refurbished so it can accommodate three merged practices.

In total the extra funding will improve facilities for patients at 44 practices across the North-East.

In Darlington the extra cash is paying for the setting up of a multi-disciplinary team of GPs, nurses and social care staff to provide additional support for frail, elderly patients closer to home.

The Department of Health cash will fund a GP to be part of this team on a Sunday to help with hospital admissions, discharges and follow-ups.

Dr Jenny Steel, NHS Darlington Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Better planning, better care and better patient outcomes are just three of the benefits of the Prime Minister’s Challenge Fund in Darlington over the last six months."