IT is a worrying sign of just how much our health service is creaking, that doctors fear being called up for jury service.

Following law changes last month, GPs are now no longer automatically exempt from service.

And that has prompted concerns that calling up a doctor to help the judicial process could disrupt patient care and cause GPs severe financial problems.

All registered electors in England and Wales aged 18 to 70 are eligible and must serve, unless they suffer from a mental illness or have been convicted of a criminal offence.

Doctors will have to put forward reasons why they should be excused from serving to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau, in London, on an individual basis but exemptions will be granted only in very exceptional circumstances.

East Lancashire doctors say arranging locum cover is next to impossible and very expensive - up to £500 per day.

And, of course, patients won't stop being ill just because their doctors is sitting on a jury.

It is right that everyone should play their part in ensuring justice is done.

But it is more important that people do not suffer as a result.

And before introducing the new legislation, the government should have ensured that the real concerns of doctors were addressed.