Professor Mike Holmes, who coordinates York's Covid vaccination centre, warns that a rise in cases is putting major pressure on the city's GP practices, and some are struggling.

As the world sadly and rightly focuses on the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine, here in York we are still dealing with the effects of Covid within our community.

"We’ve seen in the past week, an increase in cases of the virus.

Although, fortunately, this doesn’t seem to be increasing the number of people seriously ill with the disease, it is having a significant affect on our healthcare system.

Our York GP practices are still struggling with staff absences, alongside an increase in illness amongst our patients.

Demand is high and Nimbuscare is supporting GP practices who are experiencing major pressures.

Our teams are able to step in as part of a support system when GP Practices flag that they are struggling.

This is really benefitting the people of York and means that, where possible, our GP practices can continue to function without closing their doors to patients.

This is teamwork in action and we’re really proud to be providing this support as we continue to work collaboratively.

We remain open at the vaccination centre each day and continue to urge people to come for their vaccinations, particularly pregnant women who may have delayed receiving their vaccine.

This new NHS video is really worth watching. Our teams at the vaccination centre are happy to discuss your concerns with you if you make an appointment with us online.

We have already vaccinated 79% of 16-17 year olds with their first jab within the Vale of York and North Yorkshire, as well as 68% of 12 to 15 year olds. And 75% of at risk 12-15 year olds have received their first dose.

We are still waiting for further guidance about both vaccinating 5 to 11 year olds and the Spring vaccination programme for the over 75s.

Our new Spirometry service got off to a flying start this week as the suite opened its doors in our brand new modular building. It’s great to see the building come to life and patients getting the specialist testing they really need in a safe environment.

This week I want to remind people of our Nimbuscare Community Fund which is there to support projects and initiatives that have a positive impact on the emotional and mental wellbeing of people living in the York area.

Nimbuscare is committed to re-investing into our local community and this is the first year of this really great scheme.

We very much welcome applications from local groups and organisations who want to make a difference.

The closing date for this round of applications is 21 March – more details can be found here