The Yorkshire doctor who is the only GP on a remote island during lockdown

Dr David Mazza, of York, usually spends three weeks a time in Westray, the most north-westerly island in the Orkney Isles. However, due to the lockdown, he has remained on the island as the sole GP until restrictions have been lifted.

Until four years ago, Dr Mazza was a partner at the Jorvik Gillygate Practice in York, but now divides his time between being a GP on Westray and returning to York to work as a senior clinical adviser with Primary Care International, an organisation which provides primary healthcare to low and middle income countries.

However, the former Leeds Grammar School student is set to remain on the island for the foreseeable future and care for its residents as they deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Join our new coronavirus Facebook group for the latest confirmed news and advice as soon as we get it www.facebook.com/groups/yorkshirecoronavirusHe said: “Perhaps it is a bit easier on a small island however, although it is remote, the problems of dealing with the virus are no different to the rest of the country. People still have to keep their distance from family and friends and that can be difficult.

“This is an amazing community. It is busy and thriving and incredibly sociable, so like everyone else, we are having to find ways to get together. There are virtual coffee mornings taking place and Zoom meetings. Even the church service is now on Zoom.”

The islanders have set up a Covid-19 resilience group which includes the GP surgery, the church, the island’s care home, its three shops, the postmen, fire and rescue, ambulance and coastguard teams.

It has left Dr Mazza with total responsibility for the healthcare of the population of the island, alongside a nurse, while the nearest hospital is a 90-minute ferry ride away.

He added: “Under normal circumstances, we would call on the air ambulance but, at the moment, they are not taking Covid-19 cases, so we would have to rely on an ambulance crew coming out on the ferry.

"Despite our remoteness, it’s important that we follow government guidelines like everyone else to protect ourselves and that message has got through. Everyone is pulling together.

“These are unbelievable times and, just like the rest of the country, we are waiting to see what happens next.”

Dr Mazza was brought up in Leeds, and went to Leeds Grammar School before doing his medical training at Oxford and Edinburgh. He has worked as a doctor in New Zealand, Scotland and India, before returning to his native Yorkshire.

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