Nearly half a million people could not visit their GP yesterday when 56 Sussex surgeries shut down for a staff training day.

Every doctors' practice in coastal West Sussex was closed for the afternoon as medics gathered to “update their skills”.

Worried patients calling for medical attention were told by answerphone messages to call 111, the non-emergency phone line service.

But some claimed they waited up to an hour for a phone diagnosis as the service struggled to cope with the surge in calls.

Affected areas included Lancing, Littlehampton, Worthing, Bognor and Chichester - an area with a population of 488,000 people.

One worried resident, who asked not to be named, told yesterday how he was trying to call a GP for his 96-year-old father-in-law, who had fallen ill at a care home.

He said: “They think my father-in-law has a chest infection so I've been trying to contact his GP, who knows him well.

“Instead of a doctor I heard an answer machine message telling me they were all on training and that I should call 111.

“But when I called it there was no reply. The service was clearly being inundated with calls.

“It took us 45 minutes just to get someone on the phone and they were miles away.”

The relative branded the decision to leave the large area without local GP cover for the afternoon “irresponsible and wrong”.

He said: “It's incredibly concerning. I'm ex-NHS myself and I can't see what they're playing at.

“They can't just shut up shop completely whenever they feel like it.”

Yesterday was the first time all doctors in the Coastal West Sussex CCG area were asked to train at the same time.

Previously the sessions had been staggered to make sure there were always doctors available in the area.

But, since the change over from primary care trusts' to clinical commissioning groups to oversee GP surgeries, training has been taken over by a private company.

A spokeswoman for South East Coast Ambulance Service, which partly runs the 111 phone line in Sussex, admitted there was a surge of calls yesterday but insisted the service was properly prepared.

She said: “We had four months advance notice of this so we planned for it. We had additional staff that came in to handle the additional calls.

“We did have more calls but we've had no indication that any callers had to wait more than a minute.”

Dr David Hobson, clinical lead for education and training at Coastal West Sussex CCG, said: “NHS Coastal West Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group will always put its patients first and foremost.

“That's why GPs working within the Coastal West Sussex CCG area have dedicated sessions to keep their skills up to date.”

Did you have problems accessing GP services yesterday? Call the newsdesk on 01273 544512.