Calls for health care staff in Newcastle to be given fuel priority

Calls have been made for health workers and other essential staff across Newcastle and the rest of the UK to be given priority access to fuel.

This follows on from the scenes of long queues and closures at petrol stations across the country last weekend.

Petrol stations in and around Newcastle have been affected.

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the chair of council at the British Medical Association, believes that NHS staff are at real risk of being unable to do their “vital” jobs as petrol stations continue to run short.

He said: “Emergency and essential workers rely on fuel both to travel to work and for their work itself – whether this is to get to hospitals, practices and other healthcare settings, or for ambulances to reach people in urgent need of care and GPs to visit very ill patients at home.

“Everyone will have their own reasons for needing to fill up but as pumps run dry there is a real risk that NHS staff won’t be able to do their jobs and provide vital services and care to people who urgently need it.”

The government has placed the army on standby ready to help deliver fuel to the petrol stations that are most in need.