PATIENTS in Somerset are being asked to think before they dial when calling emergency out of hours services.

In the two weeks since a county-wide out-of-hours medical service was launched is has been found that a small minority of people have mistakenly called it to request repeat prescriptions or book GP appointments, which should be arranged during normal surgery opening hours.

The Somerset Out-of-Hours Medical Service is for urgent medical health and operates between 6.30pm and 8am Mondays from Fridays and at weekends and Bank Holiday.