NHS staff in South Yorkshire left feeling 'burnt out' by the impact of Omicron variant on services
Doncaster based GP Dr. Dean Eggitt's been speaking to us about how the current situation's been affecting their services over winter
NHS staff across South Yorkshire tell us they're 'scared' about whether they'll have the capacity to look after patients going forwards this winter.
Right now, there's a warning the health service is in a "state of crisis" because of staff shortages caused by coronavirus.
The rise of the Omicron variant has led to many NHS Trusts declaring 'critical incidents' this week.
Doncaster GP Dr. Dean Eggitt hasn't been surprised by this:
"Over the winter period things always get worse, and now with Omicron, it's got a great deal worse, so we were never going to have the capacity to get through these challenging times.
"That's the sad part I think; this was all entirely predictable, and we haven't managed to prepare enough as a country to keep this at bay.
"We're already seeing that people are struggling to get into hospitals when they're sick.
"It's leading to more people being treated in the community instead, which gives NHS staff less opportunity to keep people well.
"This means there's an ever-building backlog of problems when it comes to caring for patients who need help."
Meanwhile, Dr. Eggitt admits the situation right now is 'mentally draining':
"Quite frankly, when I turn up for work in a morning right now, I'm scared for my patients and I'm scared for myself.
"It's hard to manage everything through the day at the moment.
"There's a genuine feeling of anxiety amongst staff right now.
"I get feelings of palpitations on the job, which gives me an inability to concentrate.
"By midday, my brain is struggling to make decent, cohesive decisions.
"Therefore, I fear for those patients who present themselves at the NHS in the afternoon and evening, when doctors are stressed and burnt out.
"We definitely can't give the best to our patients in these circumstances, and I worry that the quality of care is deteriorating day-by-day."
Elsewhere, Boris Johnson held a press conference last night - where he warned the weeks ahead will be challenging-but stated that he 'doesn't want to shut the country down again' because of the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
The Prime Minister's also announced 100,000 critical workers will have access to lateral flow tests daily, and he'll be recommending to MP's later that England sticks with "plan b" restrictions.