HEALTH Minister Rosie Winterton dropped into a new medical base in York - and got a grilling from a GP about Government policy.

The heat was turned up on the health chief during a visit to the Jorvik Medical Practice as she outlined Labour's health agenda on the election trail.

She heard how York Labour candidate Hugh Bayley helped set up a meeting with the council that paved the way for the 1,200-patient practice to move to its state-of-the-art city centre home in The Stonebow.

That came after medics spent five years searching for a new centre. The last GP surgery inside the city walls switched from cramped, flood-prone premises in Peckitt Street last summer - ending fears it might have to leave the city. During yesterday's chat with Dr David Fair, a GP at the practice, Ms Winterton said the Jorvik highlighted increasing investment in the NHS. But after she outlined an election pledge to slash surgery waiting times and said Labour had appointed 27,000 more doctors and 77,000 more nurses, Dr Fair hit out at "frustrations" among staff over the "soundbite" culture.

In echoes of the incident that saw Tony Blair's tour of Leeds hijacked by a disgruntled student voter, the medic said: "We are frustrated by the target-driven culture undermining our ability to make decisions based on clinical need.

"We are also frustrated by the focus on waiting lists and easy soundbites that politicians use."

Dr Fair said this focussed too heavily on surgery turnaround times.

He said it often ignored areas like mental health care.

The GP added: "For health care staff the patient is king. But now targets are king. Morale has fallen among doctors and nurses because their hands are tied by targets."

He admitted it was a "terrible conundrum" because he understood taxpayers had to get value for money from the health service.

But he continued: "But there should be an element of trust that we are doing the best for patients." Ms Winterton said the Government would continue to invest in services and cut waiting times. She said the new centre had "improved the service for patients enormously".

She also praised the "dedication and commitment" of NHS staff and said it was important they had a good working environment.

The practice is staffed by nine GPs and a GP registrar, alongside four practice nurses, a physiotherapist, midwife, counsellor and private therapists.

Mr Bayley agreed targets were a "conundrum" and added: "The public want shorter waiting times for treatment and they have come down massively under Labour.

"But Dr Fair is right that there are many important health services, especially in general practice that can easily be measured by numbers."

Updated: 10:39 Friday, April 22, 2005