A LEADING York doctor has warned that pressures on the city’s GP surgeries are becoming ‘unsustainable’ and that the frustration felt by patients is becoming increasingly difficult to manage.

Professor Mike Holmes said practices were facing challenges in recruiting staff and he appealed for anyone interested in working in healthcare to get in touch or go to a careers fair at the city’s mass vaccination centre next month.

The GP spoke out about the problems facing GP practices in his weekly column in The Press about the city’s Covid vaccination programme, which he coordinates as chair of Nimbuscare.

He said surgery staff were working tirelessly to provide the care and level of services patients needed in ‘incredibly difficult’ circumstances.

He said there were challenges in recruiting people to work in general practice, whether that be in clinical, reception, administrative or managerial roles. “The level of frustration that is felt by the population, whilst acknowledged, is becoming more and more difficult to manage – humanity is a quality that is present on both sides of the situation.

“This situation is becoming unsustainable and Nimbuscare wants to invite anyone interested in working in healthcare to get in touch. There will be a job which suits you in one of York’s 11 GP practices.”

He said people could alternatively just come down to a careers fair being held at the vaccination centre at Askham Bar on October 9, where they could speak to the teams and look at all the available posts.

Prof Holmes said the vaccination centre was preparing for the Covid booster programme as it awaited final guidance and York’s practices were beginning to receive flu vaccines so they could begin vaccinating eligible people.

Staff were also looking at how they could offer support to the school immunisation and vaccination teams in providing jabs to 12-15 yr olds following the chief medical officer’s announcement earlier this week.

He said that as students prepared to return to university and college, pop up vaccination clinics would be held, including one in the Chapel at York St John University on September 27 and 28, open to all.

He added that the craze to take ‘selfies’ after having a jab had given staff the idea of getting their own ‘selfie station’ on site, which they hoped to take delivery of soon.

“Although we don’t encourage photos and filming in the vaccination areas, people can soon take a special photo in the selfie stations at all our sites.”