A Suffolk GP surgery with one of the highest vaccination rates in the country has raised over £20,000 to help provide vaccines to those living in poorer countries.

Saxmundham Health has raised £24,000 for the Unicef COVAX campaign.

The surgery has been consistently one of the top ranking for Covid vaccine delivery in all of England.

The latest figures show 89.9% of all adults over 16 have had their first vaccines in the area while 84.1% have received both doses.

Dr John Havard said the surgery believed most of its 9,500 patients had donated to the donation drive.

"Which shows what a generous group of patients they are," said Dr Havard.

"We had a yellow collection bin at the surgery door and patients also donated via JustGiving.

"We made a video about the COVAX campaign that patients watched during the 15 minutes they had to wait in the waiting room after their Pfizer vaccination.

"We also collected during the AZ clinics."

East Anglian Daily Times: Saxmundham Health staff are now preparing for boosters later in the yearSaxmundham Health staff are now preparing for boosters later in the year (Image: Archant)

The JustGiving page shows that the clinic benefitted from a huge donation of £10,000 from the Diana Emeney Trust Fund.

The surgery reported earlier this year that even the youngest of patients had been encouraged to donate money.

Beatrice Scott, seven, insisted on giving her pocket money to the surgery's drive rather than spend it on a new toy.

“When her Mum reminded her that this would mean no chocolate or comics, she retorted saying, ‘This is serious Mum - people are dying’," said Dr Havard earlier this year.

The fantastic donation figures come at the end of a difficult time for the surgery where staff had been working around the clock to help the community.

"Because of unexpected deliveries, we had several weeks of seven-day working but the staff all felt it was worthwhile and fulfilling," said Dr Havard.

"The Patient Participation Group and local volunteers did a fantastic job in snow and sun marshalling and managing the car park.

"Everyone is now taking a deep breath before the boosters start."

The surgery's COVAX fund drive is still continuing as the JustGiving page remains open to donations.