Oxfordshire NHS Primary Care Trust has launched a campaign to encourage more people to use an electronic hospital appointment booking system when visiting their doctor.

The Choose and Book referral system allows patients to pick one of four hospitals for their care, and book their first appointment there and then, or at home by phone or on the Internet. When it was launched two years ago, it was compared to booking airline tickets online, but many GPs said the system was redundant, as patients just wanted to be seen by a consultant at the nearest hospital.

However, health ministers still want at least 90 per cent of patients to use it. In Oxfordshire last year, there were just under 86,000 hospital referrals, with 56,500 made using Choose and Book.

Department of Health figures for last November show 71 per cent of county patients used the system. PCT managers have admitted they will not meet the 90 per cent target by the end of the financial year next month.

They hope an eight-point plan, including the publicity drive and offering GPs more money for using Choose and Book, will help them hit the target by September 2009.

Dr Andy Chivers, a member of the PCT's clinical executive committee and a GP at Jericho Health Centre, in Oxford, denied the move was just to meet targets.

He said: "We compare very well with other areas in terms of the amount of people who are using Choose and Book, so there isn't any panic. There are a lot of benefits to the system.

"We're broadening it to include X-rays and that type of thing, but what is really crucial is that it is an integral part of the initiative to reduce waiting times to 18 weeks. Obviously, the more we use Choose and Book, the less paperwork and delays there are."

Last year, a number of GPs told the Oxford Mail that none of their patients had used Choose and Book. Dr Helen Groom, of East Oxford Health Centre, said: "Choose and Book is a complete waste of money. Not only do patients look at you as if to say 'why would I want to go there?', when you offer Birmingham, it's also a nightmare to make appointments."