PATIENTS are being urged to support Redditch doctors who are 'beginning to drown under a sea of paper work,' writes Becky Procter.

The call follows yesterday's National Doctor Day, which saw GPs across the country call off surgeries in protest over ever- increasing legislation and form filling.

Town doctors continued as normal and the chairman of Redditch General Practitioners' Association, Dr Shaun Pike, said he thought it was inappropriate to down tools.

He said the issue was national problem but in Redditch, GP practices were co-ordinated fairly well.

But he said: "We are facing increasing difficulties in terms of access to hospital services and we are receiving weekly guidelines from the Government asking us do to more than we have done before. We are required to spend more time on this than seeing patients."

Dr Pike said he wanted to raise people's awareness of the problem doctors were facing.

Petitions have been placed in every one of the 12 surgeries in Redditch asking for patients to support the family doctor.