10,000 jabs already
THE Newcastle Primary Care Network team have vaccinated their 10,000th patient against Covid-19 in less than four weeks.
The community vaccination team have sites at Newcastle Eagles Basketball Centre and Newcastle Racecourse, which have seen more than 1,000 people vaccinated each day they have been open.
And Saturday saw the 10,000th patient across both sites receive the jab – with 1,202 patients in total vaccinated that day.
Robert Whall, 81, was greeted with cheers and applause as he received his vaccination from retired nurse Chris Welch at Newcastle Racecourse.
Chris – who used to work for Newcastle Hospitals in the Recovery Team at the Freeman and in ITU at RVI and General – said: “This is an amazing team effort that I am privileged to be a small part of. Purely by chance, I felt very humbled to be able to deliver the 10,000th vaccine to Mr Whall.”
Dr Brigid Joughin, a GP at Throckley Primary Care practice and the Clinical Director for the Outer West PCN in Newcastle, was also part of the vaccination team, and prepared the vaccine that Mr Whall received.
“It’s heartwarming to see how quickly people responded to our ‘cry for help’ to staff these sites. Everyone is working so hard, many of us seven days a week, and most of us are on our feet 10 hours a day, but despite feeling exhausted by this, when we see how delighted people are to get their vaccine and how much they appreciate what we do, it makes it all worthwhile.”
The first people in the city to have received the vaccination have been the over 80s, health and social care staff and care home residents.
Newcastle is also one of the first locations in the country to have vaccinated all eligible care home residents – another milestone for the city this week.
Said Christian Townend, Chief Executive of Newcastle GP Services (the GP Federation for the city) who have been coordinating the vaccination effort with other Collaborative Newcastle partners, said: “We are so proud. We couldn’t have done this without the support of so many people who have worked and volunteered at our sites, and the brilliant teams at the Racecourse and Eagles. It’s been really hard work, but it’s more than worth it to be able to say that we’ve protected 10,000 of our most vulnerable residents. We’re asking the people of Newcastle to do their bit by following the guidance and staying at home if they can, to help stop the spread of the virus.”
The work to vaccinate people in Newcastle will continue, and further sessions are planned over the coming weeks.
People will be contacted by the NHS once they become eligible with information on how to receive the vaccine. For most people this will be a letter, or a phone call from their GP.
Please do not contact the NHS to get an appointment until you hear from your GP. Information on the vaccine is available on here: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine/