YORK Vaccination Centre has a new name - and a new additional role.

Nimbuscare, which runs the complex at Askham Bar, says it has renamed it Askham Bar Community Care Centre.

The facility, which opened in late 2020 as the main Covid vaccination centre for York and the region, has increasingly been used recently to provide other forms of healthcare.

It is now set to provide support for people with long term heart issues as they face longer waits for further treatment in the wake of the pandemic, with the launch of a clinic later this month which will include GPs, specialist heart failure nurses and other clinicians.

A spokesperson said Nimbuscare was working with GP Practices and York and Scarborough Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to support such patients.

"People with heart problems are at a higher risk of urgent admission to hospital and their condition can deteriorate rapidly, if not checked."

Medical director Dr Daniel Kimberling said: “We will see people in clinics at our new clinical building at the centre where we have specialist teams on hand.

“We’ll make sure their condition is stable and give people any necessary advice and treatment if we think it is worsening. This service will take the pressure off our GP Practices and also prevent people being admitted into hospital."