People across South Yorkshire & the rest of the country having to 'battle' for basic health care needs
Doncaster GP Dr Dean Eggitt tells us there's been 'no let-up' in demand since the start of the new year
We're hearing people across South Yorkshire & the rest of the country are having to 'battle' for basic health care needs.
Dr Dean Eggitt-who's based at a surgery in Doncaster-has been speaking to us after pharmacy bosses recently admitted they're struggling to get hold of some supplies.
We've been asking him how his patients are feeling right now about some of the challenges they're coming up against:
"There's definitely a sense of desperation right now.
"Health is a core need. If you don't have your health, then you don't really have anything in this world.
"Right now, people are fighting for basic health care.
"People are fighting for appointments with the GP, fighting to see a pharmacist or fighting to get into hospital.
"We knew full well this winter period was going to be hard.
"Plans should've been put in place to make sure that supply chains can keep up with the demand for anti-biotics and over-the-counter treatments.
"However, it doesn't look like things were put in place early enough to solve those problems.
"It's been a pretty terrible start to the year from a health perspective.
"We've got so many different illnesses around right now and this has made it really hard to cope with demand.
"The number of people needing help is sky high."
Meanwhile, he also says people who regularly wear facemasks could develop a 'more vulnerable' immune system in the long run due to a lack of exposure to germs:
"If you want to protect yourself in the here and now and reduce your chance of getting a bug, then the advice is to wash your hands, keep your distance and wear a face mask.
"Right now, while we don't have NHS capacity, you've got to advise that because if you get sick, you're not going to get help.
"You have to then think of the longer-term consequences of that though.
"Our immune systems will change and become less resilient if societies habits change in the long run."