ORGANISERS of an emergency doctors' service, run entirely by volunteers in their spare time, are looking for another doctor to cover the Darwen area to complete their service.

Med Alert, which currently has 14 doctors providing emergency cover across the whole of Lancashire, needs the extra doctor to complete its cover and cope with a rise in demand.

The organisation, set up in 1988, is a registered charity and gets no funding from the NHS, relying on private donations. Between April 2000 and March 2001, it was called out more than 500 times, a significant rise on the previous year, and figures for the next year are expected to see another rise.

The latest to join the ranks is Dr Gareth McKeating, who is covering the Clitheroe area, but organisers admit there are still gaps in the service. A consultant anaesthetist in intensive care at Preston Royal Hospital, Dr Keating was called out 18 times in his first four weeks.

Dr McKeating said: "I knew there was a need and, although I am busy on call with my normal job, I thought I would give it a go. It is different because I normally work in a controlled environment, with good lighting.

"With these calls, you are often working in the dark, it is cold and wet, and sometimes patients are trapped sitting up in their cars, or they may be in an awkward position. But, as an anaesthetist in intensive care, I am well used to dealing with critically ill patients."

Fund-raising co-ordinator Marie Dawson said: "It is a service that should be funded by the NHS, because one of the main things we do is alleviate the pain for a patient at the scene of an accident. It is what we call golden time, between the patient being tended at the scene and arriving at hospital.

"In that time, almost anything can happen. It is absolutely imperative that the casualty at the scene of the accident is given pain relief."

The doctors on call are immediately paged as emergency calls come through to the Lancashire Ambulance Service which might need a doctor. The doctor closest to the scene then responds and, in some cases, may accompany the patient to hospital in the ambulance.

Staff work closely with police, ambulance service, fire service and the North West Air Ambulance. Doctors are given driver training and extra training to deal with the £24,000 worth of equipment they are expected to carry.

Mrs Dawson added: "It is a very hard job and obviously it is a lot to ask of a doctor, but the service is for everyone irrespective of age, race, and sex and is really needed."

Anyone wishing to make a donation to Med Alert can ring 01772 743543.