DOCTORS' surgeries across Herefordshire and Worcestershire are to get an extra £695,000 to improve their range of services.

The cash windfall is the first move in a series of measures aimed at improving access to family doctors and nurses, and to extend the range of treatments and services on offer.

Health Secretary Alan Milburn said the money could be used for providing clinics at surgeries, for joints and bones, ear, nose and throat, skin care and eye care.

It could also be used for extending opening hours in the evening or over the weekend so working people find it easier to visit.

Worcestershire got £522,000 and Herefordshire £173,000 out of a total of £5.7 million in the West Midlands.

Janet Ferguson, of Worcestershire Health Authority, said: "The money will be split up between the six local primary care groups for them to spend."

The six include the Malvern Hills Primary Care Group, which serves both Malvern and Upton.

Amanda Phillips, of Herefordshire Health Authority, said: "This is good news for Herefordshire. The priority areas for us will be improving intermediate care and increasing access to primary care."

In a separate move, Worcestershire Health Authority has put an extra £2 million into its budget to reduce the time elderly hospital patients have to wait before transferring to a nursing home.

In the past month, the authority has provided 18 extra nursing home placements, thus freeing up hospital beds. And right now there are about 20 people on the waiting list for admission to a home.

Pat Archer-Jones, health authority chief executive, said: "The authority sees elderly care as one of its main priorities. That is why we took the decision to yet again substantially increase the funding for elderly care."