PLANS for an on-site GP service at Royal Bournemouth Hospital have been approved.

The trust has been granted planning permission for a new 'urgent care centre' in a bid to relieve pressure on the emergency department, with the hospital due to become the county's primary emergency care site in the near future.

While not a formal GP practice, the service, based in an extension to the emergency department, will be GP-led and will allow non-emergency patients who turn up to A&E to be seen and treated on site.

The trust has said the scheme will be up and running within weeks, following a requirement of NHS England that hospitals introduce patient 'streaming' in A&E in a bid to cut waiting times.

A spokesman said: "The Urgent Treatment Centre isn’t a GP practice and won’t replace the care provided by local GPs - the public should continue to use their GP practices as normal."