A leading Gateshead GP has warned "Covid is definitely not going away" and spoken of the how vital it remains for patients to wear masks as under-pressure primary care services fight to cope with extreme demand and staff sickness due to the coronavirus.
Dr Paul Evans - chair of the Gateshead and South Tyneside Local Medical Committee (LMC) and a GP at the Bridges Medical Practice in Gateshead - told ChronicleLive that despite the Government's Living With Covid strategy, Covid was clearly still prevalent in the community.
"There's no change in what we're doing - because Covid is definitely not going away," he said. "Recently we have had a couple of runs of days where the surgery's been really short staffed because of staff having Covid or having family with it. It's not long ago that we were down to just having one doctor available in the practice. We had three off with either Covid or children with Covid at the same time.
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"So we're definitely still insisting on face masks and face coverings for patients and staff. We know patients will still have Covid, with or without symptoms and we still need to reduce the chance of them passing it on to us or to other patients."
Adding that it was important no to pretend Covid didn't exist, Dr Evans said it was a simple and important measure to wear masks and take precautions in places like GPs' surgeries - especially now many people could be walking around with Covid-19 without being able to test and verify this.
He continued: "We have had a few more patients asking if they need to wear masks, But we have to take health and safety seriously. Just as if you were on a construction site you would have to wear a hard hat, you still have to wear a mask in the surgery.
"We are seeing quite a few patients we know have got Covid - along with more who probably have it, or at least have the symptoms, but have been unable to test. We are working on the basis that on any given day a proportion of our patients have Covid. That's just a risk we are having to suck up."
Dr Evans added that, with general practice under severe pressure, it was he was firmly behind messaging from the recently-formed RebuildGP campaign which has highlighted how doctors fear the Government's lack of investment in ensuring more GPs are recruited around the country will continue to have stark consequences for patients.
He has previously spoken about how new changes to the contract which all GPs must sign up to will exacerbate the strain on burnt-out doctors - saying: "We are working hours that if you were an airline pilot would mean you're not able to fly. The net result of this is it will accelerate the rate of those who are considering retirement, and those of us who are younger will have to think very hard about if working as a practice GP is viable for them."
Since April 1, Covid-19 rules in most public places have been relaxed and people are no longer legally required to isolate if they have the virus. Most free Covid-19 testing is no longer available, either. However mask-wearing remains a key part of Government and NHS guidance for healthcare settings - though this week NHS England recommended a return to "pre-pandemic distancing".
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