A NEW online GP consultation service has launched at an Oswestry doctors surgery.

Patients at Oswestry's Plas Fynnon Medical Centre in Middleton Road, are now benefitting from a new software named eConsult that could save them a trip to the doctors and point them in the right direction for care.

Consultation times can also be cut, with the average eConsult closing within two to three minutes, 70 per cent of them being completed without the need for a face-to-face appointment.

The software provides patients with information on symptoms associated with more than 100 common clinical conditions and also alerts them to signs of more serious symptoms that require immediate medical attention.

There is also the option to add details to request a sick note.

Dr Julian Povey, chairman for NHS Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group who introduced the service, was in support of the software and believes it will help patients and doctors.

He said: “The online GP consultation scheme is both beneficial to patients and also to GPs.

“The software will help patients choose where they need to go for their care, giving them the medical advice they require and it could also save them a visit to their GP.

“GPs will also benefit because it has shown that the online consultations have reduced the need for face-to-face appointments."

Seven GP practices in Shropshire are currently using the software but it is hoped that all Shropshire CCG practices will have access to the service by March 2020.