A DOCTORS surgery has issued its third black alert warning in eight days amid ongoing staff shortages due to illness in its clinical team.

Bosvena Health, in Bodmin, says that it is only able to take on urgent appointments with their online ‘Klinik’ system disabled for the duration of the day.

It comes on the back of previous black alerts declared on May 28 and May 30 for the same reasons.

A black alert is commonly known to be a term used to describe the operational difficulties hospitals find themselves in when demand for their services outstrips their capacity to provide it.

A spokesperson for Bosvena Health, which operates the Stillmoor House and Carnewater medical practices said: “Illness in our clinical team means we are on Black Alert today, Wednesday, June 5.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and are doing all we can.If you have an urgent request, please telephone us on our usual number.

“Our Klinik system is not enabled for today only. If your query can wait for another day, please consider doing so to enable us to focus on those who need our help urgently.”