GP surgeries in Hereford are warning of longer waits as they try to cope with staff off work due to sickness.

Hereford Medical Group, which runs Station Medical Centre, South Wye Medical Centre, Bobblestock Surgery, Quay House Medical Centre and Credenhill Surgery, warned of problems on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the group warned patients that they could face longer waits for calls to be answered "due to high levels of staff sickness".

They asked patients to think about contacting the practice in another way.

The spokesperson said this could include using an online consult form, a form on the group's website, or on the NHS app.

"Thank you for your understanding," they said.

Speaking at a GP surgery in London last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the work of practices.

He said: “The key thing is today, people should think about the booster programme, about getting a booster.

“As you’ve said, I think it is the only real risk that we face, that we don’t get enough people coming forward.

“The numbers are starting to climb. It’s incredibly exciting. We’ve got 12.6 million boosters already done. I think that we’re closing the gap between those that we’ve done and those that are eligible, so the programme is accelerating.

“And I want to thank GPs for what they’re doing. I don’t think we’ve paid enough tribute to GPs and GP surgeries, all the staff, for the way they are now doing huge numbers of boosters. It’s making a big, big difference.”