Vital that GPs and their teams are offered COVID-19 vaccinations, says RCGP

The Royal College of GPs has issued a statement highlighting the need for GPs and those working within general practice to be vaccinated

Professor Martin Marshall, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: “GPs and our teams are currently working incredibly hard delivering two mass vaccination programmes, as well as the care and services our patients rely on us for – much of which cannot be delivered remotely.

“It’s imperative that GPs, our teams and others involved in delivering the vaccination programme have the opportunity to receive the COVID vaccine in a timely manner. This won’t just protect us from this terrible virus, allowing us to continue working on the frontline delivering patient care, but also patients and our families. General practice has been doing an excellent job, playing a leading role in vaccinating more than 1.5m patients – but there is long road ahead of us, and the last thing we want to see is the workforce depleted as staff fall ill due to COVID-19 at a time when we need all hands-on deck.

“These plans from NHS England to ensure frontline workers are vaccinated are welcome, and the College agrees that prioritising the people providing frontline care within communities is sensible and essential.”