Nurses and GPs are to be allowed a greater role in delivering care normally provided by specialists in hospital.

Health minister John Hutton has said that many simple treatments in areas such as dermatology and sexual health can be effectively treated in GP practices.

Ministers hope the move will reduce waiting times by freeing up specialists to tackle patients with complex disorders.

The new guidance comes in a bid to recognise that health staff often develop skills in some specialties which can be used effectively outside the traditional hospital environment.

Shifting healthcare from hospitals to GP surgeries has already helped improve access to treatment and helped to reduce waiting times for treatment traditionally only available in hospitals, according to the government.

Ministers want nurses to take on specialist work in areas such as heart failure, diabetes, stroke care and falls prevention, so that a greater range and complexity of patient need is met in the community.

Hutton said the government was publishing new guides to illustrate what services can be provided outside hospital.

"Developing these new, specialist roles for GPs and nurses working in primary care will help the NHS provide a more convenient and efficient service to the public," he said.

"It will help ease the pressure on secondary care services and cut waiting times. And it will help make better use of the skills and talents of key frontline staff.

"The extra investment going into primary care needs to be accompanied by fundamental reforms to the way primary care services are delivered.

"These practical guides will support this process of reform so that patients receive faster treatment close to home."

Professor David Haslam, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said: "I believe that this is a major development that will be of tremendous benefit to patients and good for the careers of doctors."

Lynn Young, a primary healthcare adviser at the Royal College of Nurses, said that the move "has the potential to enhance primary healthcare capacity and improve patient care".

"Many generalist nurses working in primary health care have developed expertise in a particular area and have proved themselves to be a superb resource to both colleagues and patients," she added.