Firm charges patients £340 a year for out-of-hours care

A private out-of-hours provider, claiming to be the UK's first patient subscription-based service, already has more than 600 patients on its launch this month.

The individual rate is £340 per year for coverage by Poole NightDoctor in Dorset 7pm to 7am 365 days a year.

A Poole NightDoctor spokesman said: ‘We are aware that the local out-of-hours GPs are currently overstretched in order to hit the government’s targets of seeing urgent overnight problems within two hours.

‘That’s a long time to wait when you’re ill or in pain and we are pleased we can now provide our members with peace of mind throughout the evening and night.’

neil.durham@haymarket.com

www.PooleNightDoctor.com

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