A GRANDMOTHER says she has nothing but praise for Swindon's out-of-hours doctor service.

Yesterday new figures were released which showed 60 per cent of emergency calls are dealt with within the target time of 60 minutes.

This means people are having to wait longer than they should to be seen by a doctor. But Anne-Marie Couchman, 59, of Pinehurst, says the service couldn't be better. She called the Shrivenham Road-based team in the early hours yesterday morning with severe stomach cramps.

A doctor had returned her call within 10 minutes.

"The service was absolutely brilliant," said the grandmother-of-two.

"Friends of mine are equally as happy with it too. When the doctor called me back he asked if I could make my own way to the centre.

"I was with my husband so it wasn't a problem. The doctor was waiting for me and I was back home less than an hour after I made the call.

"I was given some medication, which has helped and I was told to visit my own GP as soon as possible."

Swindon Primary Care Trust which runs the service has vowed to make improvements, starting with a recruitment drive this autumn.

But Heather Mitchell, the trust's director of corporate performance, said that only 82 of the 3,757 calls received between February and May were classed as emergencies.

"We now have three months' data and are regularly monitoring the information," she said.