Swine flu vaccination clinics will be held on Saturday 5 December, when doctors and nurses of Whitby Group Practice will be available to do the vaccinations.

It is important that people with egg allergy do not have this "pandemrix" vaccination but wait for the "celvapan" vaccination later.

In particular the surgery hopes that women who are pregnant will have the immunisation, as they are at higher risk from the illness.

People who are in the clinical risk groups should contact the practice.

The first group is those with chronic lung disease such as COPD and people with asthma who require continuous or repeated use of inhaled or tablet steroids or who have been admitted to hospital because of their asthma.

It is also recommended that all children who have previously been admitted to hospital for pneumonia should be immunised.

The next group is people with chronic heart disease which includes those with ischaemic heart disease such as angina or people who have had heart attacks, people with congenital heart disease and those with chronic heart failure.

Next are those with chronic kidney disease such as nephrotic syndrome, chronic kidney failure and kidney transplantation.

People with chronic liver disease are also invited, such as those with cirrhosis, biliary atresia and chronic hepatitis.

People with cerebral palsy, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease should consider the immunisation with their GP.

Whether they should have the vaccination depends on the severity of their illness.

People who are immunosuppressed, whether caused by disease or treatment, should have the immunisation as should all their household contacts.

The next group is those with sugar diabetes.

This group includes all those who require insulin or oral diabetic tablets and those who have diet-controlled diabetes.

Whitby Group Practice has created a special phone line.

Please contact the practice in the afternoon on (01947) 824149 to book an appointment.