I HAVE been made aware of an increasing number of scams being sent to constituents, with a recent trend in fake invitations to register for a Covid-19 vaccine.

You do not need to apply for the Covid-19 vaccine and it will always be free of charge. The NHS will never ask you to provide your bank account details or your pin number, nor will they ask for copies of personal documents to prove your identity such as your passport, driving licence, bills or payslips.

If you receive an email or text of this nature, be very critical of its content and never provide personal information unless you are certain of the source. If you think you have been a victim of fraud or identify theft, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

Riverside Medical Practice has been in contact to let me know that they have offered vaccine appointments to all patients aged 80 and over who are able to attend the clinic in person. Well done to them.

They have let me know that there are a small number of people aged 80-plus that they haven’t been able to contact. If that is you or someone you know, a letter should be coming to you to outline next steps about how you can organise to receive your vaccination.

I would like to strongly encourage everyone who is offered the Covid-19 vaccination to ensure that they receive it. The best way that we can get back to normality is by ensuring that we rollout the vaccination to as many people as possible and that requires patients to take up their appointments when they are offered them.

I also want to reiterate that you should not contact your local GP about when you will receive your vaccination unless your age group deadline has passed. Many local health services have indicated to me that they are still receiving many calls about this, which is taking away from their ability to answer calls elsewhere. I would urge constituents to be patient and wait for someone to get in contact with you and not vice versa.