MELKSHAM’S vaccination centre at Spencer Sports and Social Club will be remaining open.
The vaccination centre was set to close permanently last week on Friday 3rd December.
But a rethink was prompted by the government’s decision to give Covid boosters to all eligible adults in England aged 18 and over by the end of January, and feedback from the community about the possibility of having to travel to places such as Bath Racecourse for their vaccine.
Following discussions last week with the local Clinical Commissioning Group, the Melksham and Bradford on Avon Primary Care Network (PCN) has put a plan in place to allow it to continue its vaccination efforts at Spencer’s from January.
The news has been welcomed by local residents who were concerned about having to travel to other centres for their booster jabs.
“An excellent facility,” said one local resident, “so glad it’s carrying on the fantastic work. A big thank you to all involved.”
“So pleased, due booster jab, [the booking service] wanted to send me to Bristol!” said another resident.
On behalf of the Melksham and Bradford on Avon PCN, Dr Abby Burgess said, We are delighted to say they will continue to run the Covid vaccination site in Melksham from January 2022.
Over the last 12 months the team has delivered 75,000 Covid vaccinations, as well as 15,000 flu jabs. This huge effort has been down to not only the hard work of the practices, but our team of dedicated volunteers and vaccinators who have consistently and with good humour worked to ensure the clinics run smoothly and we vaccinate as many people as possible.
“Going forward, practices will not be booking patients into clinics directly, so anyone due a vaccine will need to book into clinics using the National Booking Service (NBS) or by phoning 119.
“It would be a help if patients did not contact their practices about Covid vaccinations, but use the NBS or 119, this will help us run a comprehensive primary care service through what is already a very busy winter for us in terms of patient demand.
“We would encourage everyone who is due a booster or first or second dose to get booked as soon as clinics are released. We will be putting further information about clinic details on social media in the coming weeks.
“We are recruiting more health care professionals and volunteers to help us run the programme going forward, so if you fancy joining our great team then please contact adam.clements4@nhs.net.”
