A new scheme for a county-wide emergency call-out service for doctors has been welcomed by beleaguered Wootton Bassett GPs.

The scheme will provide a single telephone number for residents of the whole of Wiltshire to call if they need an emergency visit from a doctor, and will reduce the number of hours GPs have to spend on call.

The Kennet and North Wiltshire Primary Care Trust also hopes the scheme will reduce the number of visits doctors have to make to non emergency calls.

Over the bank holiday weekend Tinkers Lane doctors' surgery, in Wootton Bassett had 22 call-outs, of which only one proved to be a genuine emergency.

Swindon doctors have reported being called out to a baby that had been crying for five minutes, advice on belly button piercing and a person calling for a shoulder to cry on when their pet gerbil died.

PCT Chief Executive Barbara Smith said: "This is still in the planning stages, but we hope to provide a single number for after-hours calls, that will be answered by a nurse practitioner.

"The nurse will be able to assess symptoms over the phone and advise the patient to either call an ambulance, wait until morning, or will send out the doctor.

"We will also have 24-hour medical centres in Chippenham, Devizes and Savernake for people who can get there, so doctors will only have to go out to people who cannot get to the centres.

"This will hopefully make life a lot easier for GPS like those in Wootton Bassett who are having to put in so many hours on call.

"The scheme requires the agreement of all local doctors and if it goes ahead it should be operational some time between September and December this year."

Until the service becomes operational, patients can call NHS Direct 24 hours a day on 0845 4647 and nurse practitioners can advise on all medical matters.

The Tinkers Lane GP surgery in Wootton Bassett is not part of an out-of-hours co-operative with other surgeries, so its three doctors have to deal with all night calls themselves.

Practice manager Sue Thornton said: "I think this is a fantastic idea from the PCT, and I'm glad that Barbara Smith is taking the problems we have on board and trying to deal with them.

"I think the problem will be persuading GPs who are already in co-operatives to go for the idea, as they don't have the same problems as us.

"As I understand it, the PCT can't force doctors to take part, it is up to the individual surgeries, and one thing I have noticed is that a lot of GPs don't like change.

"It would be sad if that happens, because the nurse answering the calls could benefit everyone by making sure that doctors are only attending cases that they really need to.

"Because of our staff shortages, we have set up a nurse practitioner in the surgery, who sees the patients and can treat a lot of things without the doctor ever having to see them.

"Things like wheezy chests, conjunctivitis, and other minor injuries are clearly going to need some treatment, but they are all things a nurse is perfectly capable of doing without taking up the doctor's time.

"They can also deal with repeat prescriptions so that patients don't have to wait for a doctor's appointment before they can get their medication.

"We set this up several months ago, and after the patients got used to it it works like a charm, and I think something similar would be very beneficial to all the after-hours services."

Tinkers Lane Surgery is one of the few in the Swindon area which is not part of a co-operative of surgeries which share the on-call nights between them. It means busier but fewer nights on call for the doctors involved.

As Tinkers Lane is not in a co-operative it is having problems recruiting doctors, and currently has only three GPs, with two more positions being advertised. When the surgery last advertised in January no doctors applied.