WHEN you feel ill it is wonderfully reassuring to know that you can visit your local doctor to talk about your health concerns.

With GP surgeries based in your neighbourhood, you can pop in or ring for an appointment and know you will get expert help.

And thanks to the NHS, this service is free to everyone in the country.

But a worrying shortage of new GPs in East Lancashire is now starting to cause major issues.

Medics say morale has been “systematically dismantled” due to an increase in workload, bureaucracy and regulation, and a reduction in pay.

The result is that newly qualified medical students are not looking to forge a career in general practice.

We are now starting to see examples where doctors are retiring but no-one wants to come forward to take on their jobs on a permanent basis.

Instead there is an increasing number of locum doctors, some earning as much as £800 a day because they are in such demand.

It would seem urgent action is needed to address this problem.

It is vital we have a new generation of doctors who will maintain the good service which we have.