The Atrium Health Centre is urging carers to "consider carefully" the level of care they provide before contacting the centre to be added to the current priority list for vaccinations.

The surgery is receiving a lot of queries from patients who care for relatives or neighbours asking to be prioritised.

The centre is the central vaccination clinic for Mid Dorset Primary Care Network (PCN), made up of nine GP practices in Dorchester - The Atrium Health Centre, Queens Ave Surgery, Fordington Surgery, Prince of Wales Surgery, Poundbury Doctors Surgery, Portesham Surgery, Cerne Abbas Surgery, Puddletown Surgery and Milton Abbas Surgery.

There are two types of carer:

A) The priority health care workers are professional staff working in frontline settings and caring for multiple patients or clients, including social workers and care home workers. These staff will have had their vaccination organised by their employers

B) Those who are in receipt of a carer's allowance or who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill. They are classed as informal carers and will be included in priority group 6 and offered the vaccination at the same time as adults under 65 years with underlying conditions which place them at greater risk of complications if they contract Covid-19.

A spokesman for The Atrium Health Centre said: "Please consider carefully whether the level of care you provide fits the description above, remembering that every person we add to this priority group pushes someone else - who may be more vulnerable because of their clinical conditions - further down the queue for the vaccine.

"If you feel you do fit this description, please contact our carer's lead Jackie Nash via [email protected] with details of the person you care for. She will add you to our carer's register and provide you with help and assistance as a carer in future.

"Note that we are already inviting those in group 6, so take heart that even if you do not feel you qualify as the main carer for someone, it may not be long before you are invited based on your age.

"Thank you all for your patience."

Don't forget to sign up to our newsletter below!

You can submit your own news straight to Dorchester Nub News by using the 'Nub It' button on our home page. This can also be done for events on our What's On page and businesses, groups and organisations on our Local Listings page , also by using the 'Nub It' button.

Please like and follow our online newspaper on your favourite social media channel. You can find us @DorchesterNubNews on Facebook and @DorchesterNub Twitter.