PEOPLE have said they want longer GP hours as part of a consultation into the future of urgent care services across County Durham.

Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Group [DDES CCG], is reviewing its services provided by urgent care centres in Bishop Auckland and Peterlee.

It is looking at closing urgent care centres during the day in a bid to simplify the service.

Its governing body is due to make a decision on what future services should look like at a meeting today.

The consultation, which was held between March and June, included three models of how urgent care services should be provided across the DDES area, which the CCG says will be more efficient and sustainable.

It found that the vast majority of those taking part wanted GPs to provide enhanced urgent care services and have longer hours.

But concerns were also raised about the increased workload for GPs.

People were giving their views on three options, all of which included having minor injury units open at Bishop Auckland and Peterlee between 8am and 8pm.

The most popular option was to have minor injury units open 24 hours a day, have urgent care centres open out of hours and at weekends at longer opening hours for GP practices of a GP “hub”.

Around 80 per cent of people said the option, which had the most provision, was their preferred choice.

A report by the CCG says: “The largest number of comments welcomed 24-hour provision, extended and enhanced GP services and therefore more provision of healthcare services.”

Other areas highlighted by the consultation was the need to keep local services and that existing GP services do not reflect the needs of today’s busy working lives.

The CCG has been looking at the service since 2014 as part of a national review into urgent and emergency care and says that current urgent care centres does not provide equal access to everyone living in the area.

During the consultation people heard that the trust will have to make savings of around £16million to cope with the rising cost of caring for an ageing population. It is also facing difficulties in recruiting enough GPs to keep urgent care centres fully staffed.