Sainsbury's Open In-Store GP Surgery

Wed, 05 Mar 2008

Sainsbury's have launched their first in-store GP surgery, which will provide patients with out-of-hours access to GPs.

The 'Doctors in Store' service will initially run as a six-month pilot scheme at the pharmacy in the Heaton Park store in Lancashire .

Sainsbury 's said the service will offer patients the choice to attend evening and weekend appointments, available from 18:30 to 21:30 GMT on Monday and Thursday evenings and from 11:00 to 15:00 GMT on a Saturday.

GPs working at the store are provided from local surgeries in Heywood and Middleton and will have full, secure access to patients' medical details.

Patients in the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale primary care trust can book appointments at the store through their registered GP practice .

The 'Doctors in Store' service will be provided by PriMed Services, which is led by Middleton GP Dr Mohammed Jiva.

"Patients needs are changing and so it's important that we find ways to provide a more flexible and convenient service," Dr Jiva commented.

"A number of practices in the local area have already come on board and once demand increases, we will explore the potential to roll this out to even further across the whole of Rochdale."

The pilot service is part of a £126,000-scheme by Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale primary care trust to provide patients with greater access to GPs.