GP targets well on way to being met

In Fareham and Gosport 81 per cent of patients see their GP within two working days.

But Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust must increase that figure to 90 per cent of all patients by March.

If it does not the Department of Health could penalise the trust by awarding it fewer stars when its general performance is assessed next year

However, health bosses say the trust is well on its way to achieving the targets with shorter GP waiting times in Fareham compared to Portsmouth and East Hampshire.

Fareham and Gosport also outperforms its neighbours when it comes to patients seeing a practice nurse, with 85 per cent of people having appointments fixed within one day.

Alan Pickering, chief executive of Fareham and Gosport Primary Care Trust, said: "This is extremely encouraging.

"It shows that the PCT is well on its way to achieving the government target that 90 per cent of patients see a practice nurse within one working day and a GP within two working days by March 2003.

"To achieve this target is thanks to the hard work of the staff within the local health services who have been working hard together to make sure patients are seen by a health care professional as soon as possible."

The patient figures revealed were taken from July to September.

They also show that waiting lists at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham and St Mary's in Portsmouth have kept within government targets since coming down in March.

Not a single patient registered with a Fareham or Gosport GP had to wait more than 15 months for inpatient treatment or 26 weeks for an outpatient appointment.

Pat Forsyth, Portsmouth Hospital's NHS Trust spokeswoman, said that the use of Haslar for more planned surgery, such as hip replacements, had helped keep waiting lists down.

"It was a very important target and we are glad we have kept waiting lists down.

"If anyone gets near the target waiting times we pull out all the stops to make sure they are treated."