ACTION to end GP `black holes' was announced by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt today.
Patients in six poorly-served areas will find it easier to see a family doctor, Ms Hewitt said.
New practices and walk-in centres will be set up in five towns and cities next year, the Health Secretary promised.
There will be two schemes in London and one each in Liverpool, Lancashire, Plymouth and Yorkshire.
They will include new "breakfast" and "tea-time" surgeries with practices open from as early as 7am and as late as 10pm.
"These new pilots are great news for people living in some of the most deprived and under doctored areas in the country," Ms Hewitt said.
London will see a walk-in service and a GP practice taking 7,200 patients in Barking and Dagenham along with a five doctor practice and NHS walk-in centre at the City and Hackney Trust.
There will be a walk-in service at Hyndburn and Ribble Valley and a nurse-led practice at Plymouth Teaching Trust.
There will also be more doctors in South Sefton and more GPs, a nurse practitioner and a healthcare assistant at Bradford City Teaching Trust.
