CYBERSPACE doctors have gone on-line in Bolton as local GPs become the first in the country to plug into the internet.

Dr Bob Hunt, who shares a 3,700 patient practice in a busy health centre in Halliwell, has launched one of the first GP websites.

At the moment, just 15 patients have enrolled since the project went live last month but Dr Hunt and practice manager Alison Pilling believe hundreds more will soon be surfing their information super highway.

Their website -- www.bolton.nhs.uk/gp/halliwell -- is the first of its kind in Bolton and among the first in England.

Others are soon to follow suit in Harwood, Bradshaw, Egerton and Dunscar as part of a Government scheme to improve access to GPs.

By 2004, all patients should be able to see their doctor within 48 hours.

Dr Hunt said: "We are still a long way off virtual doctors. I believe patients will still want to see a doctor face to face.

"And to carry out consultations across the web will mean doctors miss vital clues and body language which can be vital in diagnosis.

"But the scope is endless -- who knows what will happen in the future."

Dr Hunt says that despite popular belief, there are a growing number of pensioners, nicknamed "silver surfers", expected to benefit from the move to the web.

These patients are using TV internet services and libraries to access the internet, according to the researchers advising Dr Lunt.

Now, patients at the Halliwell practice will be able to book appointments and order repeat prescriptions by clicking on to the specially-designed website.

They will be able to browse through pages of local medical advice and look at NHS bulletins.

They can "meet" their doctors, read all about them and learn the names of receptionists and practice managers.

Alison Pilling said: "It is all about improving communication."

In the future, their website might even contain information for patients such as the length of wait you could expect in the waiting room before you see a GP.

Dr Hunt said: "We will probably iron out a few teething problems and then this site will be copied by other practices. We are keeping it very simple at the moment."