The extra money will help improve access to GPs

The extra cash invested by Sedgefield Primary Care Trust comes on top of the �100m already being spent in the town.

The PCT has been talking to patients and community groups about how they want their health services to improve.

The money will be used to provide better access to GPs, expand cancer and coronary services and improve mental health services.

It was very important to take into consideration the views of local people in identifying how we spent our additional money Nigel Porter, Sedgefield PCT

Nigel Porter, Chief Executive of Sedgefield PCT, said: "Although we have not been able to tackle everything on our list for 2004/05, we have been able to identify a very significant level of investment in new or expanded services across the Sedgefield area."

The �5m will be allocated in a number of areas: �1.6m to improve health through effective prescribing, �1.1m to improve access to GP and nurse appointments, while mental health services will receive �900,000.

As well as this, �500,000 will help improve out of hours and emergency care services, �300,000 will go to services for people with coronary heart disease and �100,000 will go to expand cancer services.

Mr Porter said: "It was very important to take into consideration the views of local people in identifying how we spent our additional money this year. We have addressed some of their main concerns.

"We hope that our Local Delivery Plan will start to tackle some of the health service concerns that people have raised by improving and expanding the services that exist and through the development of new services."