Shot in the arm-y Military staff at Ashton Gate for vaccine training
MILITARY personnel from across the country came to Ashton Gate’s new coronavirus vaccination centre to be trained to give out the jabs.
The soldiers, airmen and naval personnel are being trained to give the jab so they can fill in for NHS staff if needed, when the mass vaccination against Covid-19 steps up even more in the coming weeks.
The members of the reserve force could well join doctors, nurses and pharmacists in the mass vaccination of people across Bristol, with army doctors already on standby to join the vaccinators.
The military personnel were at Ashton Gate on Friday and were trained by NHS staff there.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: “The NHS is well prepared to deliver the vaccine and keep pace with supplies as they increase over the coming weeks.
“As part of prudent planning, a small reserve force of medicallyqualified military personnel has been placed on standby to support this work if needed.
“The whole of government is working closely with the NHS to put plans in place to distribute the vaccine, including military planning teams to help coordinate regional and national deployment activity.
“Through the MACA process, Defence has provided 133 personnel into the Vaccine Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to support the NHS if requested. The QRF is made up of medically trained personnel that can vaccinate people when needed.
“This means personnel will be engaged only when required and requested by the NHS in a ‘surge’ capacity,” he added.
The military personnel at work at Ashton Gate were observed by Brigadier Jock Fraser, from the Royal Marines, who is the Naval Regional Commander for Wales and the West of England.
“I was privileged to observe our Royal Navy teams at work today at Ashton Gate alongside our wonderful NHS colleagues and steward volunteers – a fantastic multiagency and community effort,” he said.
Navy medic Lieutenant Lauren Hodges has said taking part in the mass Covid-19 vaccination drive has been her “proudest moment”.
The senior nursing officer from Portsmouth-based aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, is one of six naval personnel who have been deployed to a vaccination hub at Ashton Gate, the home of Bristol City FC.
The team is working alongside health staff at the mass immunisation centre to vaccinate NHS and key workers and people aged over 80.
Lt Hodges said: “This is probably my proudest moment – being part of a national effort to hopefully get ahead of Covid and get the country back to some form of normality.
“The set-up here is fantastic – really well-organised, especially given the size of the operation and the speed with which it has been set up.”
The team was provided training for the role last week and also met Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he visited the facility which has been providing the jab to about 800 people a day since Tuesday.
Ashton Gate gradually increased the numbers of people through the doors last week, and NHS bosses there said that by the end of this week they hope to be vaccinating 10,000 people a week.
The centre is open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, so the target of 10,000 people a week works out at 1,428 a day, or around 120 an hour, or two people every minute.