A HEALTH organisation has apologised to a Knutsford woman after she blasted the 'out of hours' service for town residents.

Mabel Taylor, of Malvern Road, criticised the service provided by Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group after she felt unwell with high blood pressure on a Sunday earlier in the year.

When she rang Toft Road Surgery she was told via a message to visit the surgery the next day but with no other details.

After searching the Toft Road Surgery website it suggested contacting the Wythenshawe Walk In Centre – but that closed down three years ago.

Mabel then rang the NHS 111 number but was unable to speak to a call handler. She was then driven to Macclesfield Hospital's Accident and Emergency department where she was treated.

Mabel told the Guardian Knutsford patients deserved better.

"What is the point of recommending access to care in places such as Urmston, Levenshulme, and Congleton where either there is no public transport at all or the journey would be far too far too time consuming for someone who feels ill," she said.

"Even getting to Macclesfield District General Hospital can be problematic as the poor week day public transport service is reduced to nil on Sundays and bank holidays.

"Basically I want to know, despite a growth in population, why a town the size of Knutsford has fewer services today than it did 20 years ago and why apart from Macclesfield all the advice covers services which are not only not in Knutsford, but not in the area covered by the ECCCG either.

"Furthermore why what is on offer seems suitable only for those with access to private transport and an available driver, and takes no consideration the elderly population many of whom can no longer drive?

"We have also been told to visit pharmacies for assistance but again their `out of hours` services are strictly time limited.

"All told I feel Knutsford deserves better."

Jerry Hawker, Chief Officer, NHS Eastern Cheshire CCG told the Guardian that the information on the trust's website had been changed and an apology had been sent to Mrs Taylor.

“While we cannot comment in detail on individual cases, we would like to reassure readers that steps have been taken to address the concerns raised by the patient in question.

“At our request, the patient’s GP practice has updated its website to offer accurate, complete information on out-of-hours services while NHS 111 has recruited additional call handlers to meet demand at peak times.

“While we regret the delays experienced by the patient in obtaining medical advice, the consultant in urgent and emergency medicine at East Cheshire NHS Trust has advised that a visit to A&E at Macclesfield District General Hospital would have been the best course of action in any event.

“We have apologised to the patient and written to her in detail to explain the remedial action we took and to describe at length the range of health services available to residents of Eastern Cheshire outside of GP practice opening hours.

“We recognise that the experiences of patients who use NHS services are vital in helping us understand where they can be improved. Accordingly, we have thanked the patient for bringing her experience to our attention and enabling us to implement and influence changes that will undoubtedly result in improved services.”

The following 'out of hours' options are available for Knutsfordians:

•In a life-threatening emergency, patients should call 999.

•Patients who are seriously injured or acutely unwell should visit the A&E department at Macclesfield District General Hospital (MDGH). A&E is open 24/7 every day of the year.

•Patients sustaining an injury that is not serious but needs attention may visit the Minor Injuries Unit at Congleton War Memorial Hospital. The unit is open 10am to 6pm weekdays, and 8am to 4pm weekends and bank holidays. Alternatively, there are Walk-In Centres at Trafford General Hospital and Hawthorn Medical Centre, Levenshulme; plus Minor Injuries Units at Altrincham Hospital and Victoria Infirmary, Northwich.

•Patients should call NHS 111 when they need medical help quickly but it’s not a 999 emergency. Depending on their symptoms, patients may be referred to the Eastern Cheshire GP out-of-hours service, which has a physical presence in Knutsford at weekends from 10am to 3pm. At other times, the GP out-of-hours service is based at MDGH.

•For expert advice on self-care options, patients should visit NHS Choices at nhs.uk.