WARRINGTON is taking part in a national pilot scheme that aims to enable patients to see the most appropriate health care professionals at their convenience.

Warrington Primary Care Trust has been developing the town's involvement in the Advanced Access Scheme for the past 12 months.

It involves matching the available capacity in each participating practice, in terms of trained staff and time, to the demand from patients for appointments on the same day, or those booked over the following 24 hours.

The National Primary Care Collaborative that runs the pilots has set a target of 90 per cent of patients being able to book their appointment routinely within one working day.

A spokesman for the PCT said: "Significant progress has already been made in reaching this in Warrington."

The Latchford, Guardian Street, Bewsey Street and Folly Lane medical centres were initially involved but they have now been joined by other practices.

Success is owed to changes in the way appointments are made.

Offering different forms of access, such as telephone consultations and training reception staff to be health care assistants, has also helped.

In addition medical centres are: avoiding arranging follow-up appointments for Mondays because they are practices busiest days; testing nurse triage and same day requests for appointments are prioritised to ensure patients are seen by the most appropriate health care professional.