Covid-19 vaccinations to begin in Midhurst

The centre has urged the town's residents not to telephone but to wait to hear from staff about organising vaccinations.

A statement from a Riverbank Medical Centre spokesman said: "We are pleased to announce that the staff at Riverbank Medical Centre will begin mass Covid-19 vaccination from Wednesday January 20.

"We will be following government guidelines and we request that patients wait to be called by our staff rather than phoning the medical centre. As we have done, throughout this crisis, we remain open to deal with other medical concerns."

The centre said it is aiming to vaccinate 975 people in a day and issued advice over parking asking that people with no mobility issues are dropped nearby or walk to the appointment.

Midhurst Angels is also involved in the roll-out locally and is providing stand-by volunteers to Tandem Community Support, which is helping residents with travelling to and from the site, with drivers.

Midhurst Angels has also been able to provide volunteers to help with marshalling and administration at Midhurst Pharmacy although there is has been no confirmation the site will be used for vaccinations.

Jess Brown-Fuller, a co-founder of the community group, said: "We have a lot of people come forward offering their to drive which was really lovely. My hope is that will grow the volunteer network permanently.

"People like Tandem have been struggling and it is such an important service they offer — even in normal times they take people to the hospital so I am really hopeful that the people who have come forward are able to continue in the future.

"It just shows the wonderful community we live in and how everybody is willing to rally together and support everybody in the Midhurst community during these times."

Both Midhurst Angels and Riverbank Medical Centre have advised caution over a spate of scam text messages to residents.

You can find out how to protect yourself here: Sussex residents warned by police of ‘shameful’ Covid scams