Reliant on a local supermarket for GP services

SIR – I am on the “extremely vulnerable” Covid list, and am grateful to the Government for regular letters of advice.

However, I find it intolerable that my GP practice has told me twice not to phone until the end of October to get an appointment for a flu jab. Due to my vulnerability, I consider that is too late. In any case I know what will happen. After a 45-minute wait to get through they will tell me that all the appointments have gone.

Fortunately a good friend checked the Tesco website every evening for two weeks and emailed me when my local branch started offering flu jabs. My husband and I were fortunate to get the last two appointments for the following day.

I am very grateful, but at a loss as to why GP surgeries cannot do this when supermarkets can.

Patricia Eastwood Skipton, North Yorkshire

SIR – Dr Ken Leeper (Letters, October 15) suggests we engage with GP receptionists. If only.

John Kirk Leicester

SIR – Primary care services are not just provided by GPS. There is an enormous number of skilled nurses who do a lot of the work once traditionally done by doctors. We examine, diagnose, treat and refer, allowing the doctors to focus on sicker patients and those with more complex problems.

In my practice virtually all chronicdisease management is done by highly skilled nurses, as are routine tasks such as immunisations, dressings and injections.

Today’s skilled practice nurses and nurse practitioners are ageing and it is difficult to attract more junior nurses to the speciality when the training courses have been cut. Three of our current team are officially retired but we continue to work.

We have carried on providing face-to-face appointments when needed, but some patients prefer telephone or video consultations so we have also continued to offer these.

We have worked hard to provide a high standard of care during this pandemic, as well as giving Covid and now flu jabs.

Chris Tate

Holt, Norfolk