PATIENTS are angry they will not be able to benefit from a seven day GP service after surgeries across Wickford failed to sign up to a long-awaited trial.

More than 80,000 residents can now book appointments at weekends and evenings after Basildon and Brentwood Clinical Commissioning Group launched a new scheme at the beginning of this week.

Fifteen practices signed up to the trial- but none of them are in Wickford.

David Harrison, deputy leader of the Wickford Ukip group and ward councillor for Wickford Park, is calling on residents to put pressure on their doctors.

He said: "I think it's good news that the CCG are doing this.

"I would have thought at least one surgery in Wickford would want to get involved.

"The current opening hours are just no good for people who work, and I'm still getting complaints from residents having to wait weeks for an appointment.

"I think it's going to be up to patients to put a but of pressure on."

Eunice Brockman, 59, of Mount Close, Wickford, is also disappointed with the response from local doctors.

She said: "I would love the second day GP service to happen in Wickford.

"People are ill 24 hours a day, so I think it should be a 24/7 service. Doctors go into these jobs knowing that is the case, so I think they should be willing to work evenings and weekends. They get excellent money for what they do.

"I'm lucky because I go to the Shotgate Surgery and they do offer a few evening appointments there, but I'm sure a lot of people will be really angry no Wickford practices are included in the trial."

The scheme provides an extra 550 GP and 190 nursing appointments each week.

They are all being offered at the Noak Bridge Medical Centre and Ballards Walk Surgery, Basildon, between 6.30pm and 8pm Monday to Friday, and 8am until 8pm on weekends and bank holidays.

Patients benefiting from the trial simply have to call their nomal practice number to book an appointment.

The project, which follows a succesful similar service in Castle Point and Rochford, was awarded £1.52million from the Prime Minister's Challenge Fund.

EARLIER this year doctors in Wickford admitted health care in the town is at crisis point.

Patient participation groups at the Robert Frew Medical Centre, in Silva Island Way, the Shotgate Surgery, in Southend Road, the Wickford Health Centre and the Applewood Surgery, both in Market Road, the Swan Lane Surgery and the London Road Surgery all joined forces to highlight their “deep concerns” to NHS bosses.

The groups, made up of patient volunteers, practice managers and GPs, wrote to Andrew Pike, Essex area director for NHS England, to call for urgent action following reports of residents facing an average wait of two weeks.

They claimed practices could not cope with the growing population due to new developments at Beauchamps Place, on Southend Road, and the former Runwell Hospital site.

Basildon Council has also given the green light to another 864 homes at various sites around Wickford and the town is earmarked for 2,800 extra properties by 2031, in the borough’s emerging local plan.

A new £2million doctors surgery is set to be built on the former Wickford Market site as part of a revamp of the town centre.