BRIDPORT Medical Centre has urged patients to attend their Covid-19 vaccination appointments as the number of people not attending rises.

Around 1,500 more people were vaccinated at the centre's most recent clinic on Friday, February 26, but 40 people did not attend their booked appointment.

A spokesman for the medical centre said: "We are starting to see a number of ‘did not attends’ as the cohorts get younger. 40 patients did not attend for their vaccination on Friday.

“Not attending for a booked appointment could risk wastage of extremely valuable vaccine - vaccine that could have been offered to another person in cohort. It also results in the team having to work longer into the evening to get people down to the clinics as short notice, after a 12-hour day.

“Please help us to help you."

They added: "We do appreciate that often busy lives can get in the way, hence people forget appointments.”

The centre has reserve lists of those who are next scheduled to attend appointments, there are usually extra doses as some vials will allow an additional dose, and the team has been authorised to use them.

However, the spokesman said that co-ordinating 40 more people to come to the centre to receive their vaccination on the day is 'quite a task'.

All doses of the vaccine were used on the day.