MEDICAL centres in Wyre Forest have cancelled "nearly all" nurse appointments to focus on delivering Covid-19 booster vaccinations as a matter of urgency.

This is in response to the increased spread of the Omicron strain of the virus, which has now been discovered in Worcestershire.

Kidderminster Medical Centre, Church Street Surgery, Stourport Medical Centre, and Bewdley Medical Centre have been informed they must deliver as many vaccinations as possible within a fortnight.

On the Facebook pages of the Wyre Forest Health Partnership surgeries, a post said: "We have been informed that we need to vaccinate as much of the population as we can within the next two weeks.

"This means that we are unfortunately going to have to cancel nearly all our nurse appointments in order for us to do this."

The surgeries will be contacting all patients who will be affected by this to cancel and postpone appointments for the next two weeks.

Nurses and support staff will be sent to vaccinate patients at either Kidderminster Medical Centre or the Stourport Health Centre site.

Patients have also been urged to wait until they are contacted to cancel the appointments and to not contact surgeries to ask about appointments or vaccinations.

"This is a huge piece of work and and on a scale that the NHS has not ever faced before", the post added.

"Please work with us to ensure this work can be done as quickly and efficiently as possible - we are aware this is extremely stressful time for everyone and we are doing our best - please be kind to the staff, we have taken our direction from NHS England and is out of our control."

Plans to ramp-up the delivery of Covid vaccinations across the UK were announced on Sunday (December 12).

Clare Nock, chief executive officer of Wyre Forest Health Partnership, said: "We heard with everybody else on Sunday night.

"We are still finalising what our plans are and awaiting operational guidance from the government."

Simon Trickett, chief executive officer for NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG said: “Our health and care staff were already working incredibly hard to deliver COVID-19 vaccines as swiftly as possible, but the threat posed by Omicron is significant.

“That is why the government has asked us to prioritise boosters over other routine care.

"I know that staff across our two counties will again do everything they can to rise to this challenge, and ensure the COVID-19 vaccination programme provides as much protection as possible as we prepare for a new wave of infections that could be even greater than those that have gone before.”