The Greater Manchester streets where people find it 'impossible' to see a doctor

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

On a wet morning in Oldham town centre, pensioner Alan Ingham takes shelter in a nearby shop door as he waits for his wife Margaret to go about her daily errands.

He is in recovery from prostate cancer and both he and his wife are diabetic. Despite this, Alan says he hasn't been able to see his GP, in Shaw, face-to-face since before the coronavirus pandemic.

Maria Mycock and her husband David have had an all too similar experience - spending hours on the phone from 9am - only to be cut off because there are too many people calling for an appointment. READ MORE:Greater Manchester's best and worst GPs as one rated best in country At their doctors surgery in Failsworth, the couple face a torturous game every time they call, they say - as they risk being cut off the line if they reach number 21 in the queue.

Maria, 64, stresses she doesn't blame her GP and recognises the "immense" pressure they are under. "The doctors are very good, it's just getting to see them," she adds.