Busy patients whose lifestyles don't fit in with their GP surgery's hours could soon be able to walk into a High Street 'health shop' to see a doctor.

Prime Minister Tony Blair and York-born health secretary Frank Dobson announced the £30 million initiative at a conference on primary health care in Birmingham today.

But local GPs in York today branded the scheme a 'gimmick' - and warned it could lead to a lower quality of care.

It would be up to local primary care groups - the mini health trusts which now manage GP and community nursing care - to bid for a share of the cash if they want to open a 'walk-in' centre in a local shop or supermarket.

The aim would be to give instant access seven days a week to qualified health care for people who found it difficult to make appointments during normal surgery hours.

The launch of the scheme follows the setting up of 'NHS Direct' hotlines in the East Riding and West Yorkshire giving patients instant access on the telephone to advice from qualified nurses.

It comes as a new survey of patients reveals a quarter of people are having to wait more than four days for an appointment with their GP.

Despite that, the Government survey reveals nine out of ten people are happy with the treatment they receive.

Dr Tony Sweeney, a GP in York's Tang Hall Lane surgery and local spokesman for the British Medical Association, today dismissed the latest scheme as a 'gimmick'.

He said: "This has not been discussed with GPs who have been providing the service since the inception of the NHS. It's a distraction from the real issues, which are getting a properly funded, properly resourced NHS."

Dr Sarah Bottom, of the South Bank Medical Centre, said she feared it could actually lead to a poorer quality of care.

She said: "I have not seen the details, but the implication is a patient would be seeing a doctor who would know nothing about your case. There would be no continuity of care. My instincts are very much opposed to it."

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