PATIENTS at a Rossendale surgery will not be left hanging on the telephone after it became the first in East Lancashire to get a new on-line booking system.

Waterfoot Health Centre has signed up to a national scheme which allows patients to access their GP's timetable and make appointments over the internet.

And the system is proving a hit at the Cowpe Road practice after it was ranked 17th out of the participating 4,500 surgeries nationwide for the number of on-line bookings. Practice manager Alan Morton said the scheme had been a lifesaver with more people choosing to go on-line rather than make a phone call.

He said: "The patients like the system because they can book an appointment at any hour of the day without the hassle of a telephone call.

"When people can see the diaries they often find ways of fitting themselves in when they may not have done so if someone had offered it to them over the phone."

The scheme, also allows patients to cancel appointments, change their details and check clinic times or meetings.

Over the next few months it is hoped it will be expanded allowing patients to order repeat prescriptions at any time of the day.

And Mr Morton is predicting the system which is run by EMIS Access will become even popular as more people become aware of it.

He said: "EMIS Access is already proving popular with our patients and we're confident that take-up will grow as more of them become aware of it." Sean Riddell, deputy manager director of EMIS added: "The number of users in Lancashire is growing all the time. It is a great example of how technology can deliver benefits to the NHS - for patients and staff."