Sixty family doctors are to take part in a new night-time and weekend service for patients in Kildare and west Wicklow.
The service, a co-operative between local GPs and the South Western Area Health Board, will be run from Naas General Hospital and at least three other centres.
It will include GP and nursing services, home visits and clinical advice over the phone. Patients will also be able to attend the centres, get referrals to hospital and ambulance call-outs.
As a security measure, a car and a driver will be provided for doctors to make home visits.
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The main centre is expected to get 1,000 calls a week. All details of patients' visits to the centres will be e-mailed or faxed to their own GPs each morning.