There are fears Bury's NHS could become strained even further after a group of four GP practices switched off access to an online consultation service. The askmyGP service allows patients to contact their surgery and receive a response online, in what the platform describes as 'digital triage'.
It has been an option for Bury residents who are signed up to GP practices in the Tower Family Healthcare (TFH) group - Greenmount, Minden, Spring Lane and Tottington. However, TFH announced on Monday (April 25) that patients will not be able to submit requests to the service for two weeks, until May 6.
It says the move is necessary as it clears a backlog of existing requests and continues to deal with coronavirus affecting its staff. But residents and a Bury MP have raised concerns that the move will see more people head to A&E at Fairfield Hospital - as well as causing longer queues on TFH's phonelines.
