CHANGES to out-of-hours GP services in Suffolk will undergo a three-month pilot to ensure the new system is benefiting patients, health bosses have said.

The out-of-hours service, set up for people who need urgent GP attention, will change from February 1, with the number of centres where patients can be seen by doctors reducing from 10 to eight.

It will mean that centres at Wickham Market, Newmarket and Aldeburgh will close, although a new service will operate from Saxmundham.

Service provider Harmoni said the move would see three more GPs in cars available to visit people at home and more staff to see patients.

But concerns have been raised that the move could leave poorly patients with long journeys to see a clinician.

Suffolk’s Health Scrutiny Committee discussed the move at its meeting on Tuesday and asked for the scheme to be closely monitored for three months.

Committee chairman Anne Whybrow said she was seeking a meeting with NHS Suffolk, which is preparing an impact assessment on the changes, and if concerns about the new set-up remained, the change could be referred to the Secretary of State. “We will be keeping a watchful eye on the situation,” she said.

Villagers in Wickham Market have protested at the changes and claimed that the out-of-hours centre at the Resource Centre site was regularly unmanned.

Dr David Lee, Harmoni’s regional medical director, said the company was committed to consulting with the public and health professionals to make sure it got the service right.

“Since taking over the contract (in April 2010), we have been analysing and reviewing the number of patients who contact the service, where they live and what happened to them once they contacted the service.

“We believe making changes to the service allows us to use our clinical staff more effectively to meet the needs of the population of Suffolk.”

Lynne Wigens, director of patient safety and clinical quality at NHS Suffolk, said: “We want to see the best possible out of hours care for people of Suffolk.

“We will monitor the performance of Harmoni more closely over the three-month period from February 1 to April 30 to make sure it is delivering what it sets out to achieve.”

Harmoni said the changes will mean there will be 13 GP cars across Suffolk at busy time, such as a Saturday morning, rather than the current 10 and the new shift patterns will be more attractive to staff, making it easier to fill rotas.

It admitted the current system meant centres “occasionally” had to close due to lack of available staff.

Michael Bond, county councillor for Wickham Market, expressed dismay that the facilities for out-of-hours doctors at the Resource Centre were not being used regularly and said people living in the area would have to make long journeys to see a doctor under the new system.