Praise for health workers in Peterborough for overcoming challenges of Covid-19 pandemic

Metro Mayor, Dr. Nik Johnson has spoken out in support of local primary care services and GP practices for all the hard work that they do in spite of the huge challenges they are currently facing.

The Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, a GP himself, has taken the unusual step of writing a letter along with Dr. Katie Bramall-Stainer, Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire Local Medical Committee (LMC) thanking the staff for all their work.

In the letter, Mayor Johnson writes: “Thank you for your immense hard work and selflessness in serving your patients and communities in the capital throughout the awful COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know just how challenging this has been for GPs, nurses, administration staff, and others in your practices providing care and support.

“You responded magnificently to the COVID-19 pandemic, developing a range of innovative solutions to provide advice and treatment safely using telephone and online consultations, expanding rapidly in a way few believed possible, alongside face to face.

“You have helped slow the spread of the virus by enabling people to seek care from home, as well as reducing vulnerable people’s risk to exposure.”

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough GPs have delivered a huge volume of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, involving more than 640,000 vaccinations, as well as simultaneously responding to acute need, offering pro-active and preventative ‘care’ embedded in local communities, playing a key role in mitigating the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 across our most vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

Mayor Johnson added: “You should be incredibly proud of your role in the success of the vaccination programme across a programme that could never have been delivered without general practice.

We recognise your diligence, commitment, and need for support. We pledge that we will continue to call for adequate funding and conditions for the general practice workforce across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

And he said: “Working together, we can champion and deliver safe effective services that continue to meet the needs of the diverse communities we all serve.”