Axminster Medical Practice has offered a first vaccination to all patients aged 50 or above and clinically vulnerable patients aged 18 or above, totalling nearly 7,000 - but the pressure on staff is such that many are exhausted.

Patients who are in the 50 or above group who do not have an appointment for vaccination should contact the surgery urgently as only limited appointments are availability.

So far 6,805 Axminster patients have received at least their first vaccine, representing 67 of eligible patients.

Exhausted staff

The practice is now hitting a difficult stage with first and second vaccine clinics still running alongside a normal surgery.

In a statement on Facebook, it was revealed that many staff had not had a break for months and were exhausted. Over the last month the practice had also seen a large spike in patients contacting the surgery.

Those with a mild or self-limiting condition, are being asked to consider managing it at home, or speaking to their pharmacist for advice. This will allow the practice time to deal with the patients who really need prompt medical attention.

But those with severe or concerning symptoms should not delay contacting the surgery.

New consultation system

The practice has recently switched from eConsult to a new, much simpler online consultation system. So far the feedback has been excellent.

Although the character count is limited on the form, patients are requested to give as much specific and concise information as possible.

This helps the practice to pick out and prioritise the urgent problems from what can be a very long list of patients; for example on one Monday this month the surgery received 106 online consultations.

The form is accessible from every page of the website

homepage. This can also be done for free for events on our What's On page and businesses, groups and organisations on our Local List page by using the 'Nub It' button.

Please like and follow our online newspaper on your favourite social media channel. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter. And don't forget to sign up to our free weekly newsletter below!