First Covid-19 vaccine in a Saolta hospital
THE first Covid-19 vaccine to be given to a staff member in a hospital in the Saolta group, of which Sligo University Hospital is part, was to a nurse at University Hospital Galway on Tuesday.
And CEO of the Saolta Group Tony Canavan said they would be extending the vaccination programme across each of the hospitals in the Saolta group as the vaccine supply becomes available.
Mr Canavan, who has overall responsibility for the acute hospitals and the west and north-west, said: “This is a really important day and we are delighted that we have commenced the rollout of this critical vaccination programme here on the University Hospital Galway site. “The vaccines will be delivered in stages and we will be extending the vaccination programme across each of the hospitals in the Saolta Group as the vaccine supply becomes available. “This is a huge vaccination programme and our priority it to provide it to our staff as quickly as possible in the safest possible manner.”
Dr Pat Nash, group chief clinical director at the Saolta Group, said that Covid-19 is a highly infectious disease which can cause serious illness, hospitalisation and even death.
“Across the Saolta Group over the last almost 10 months we have seen the devastating effect of this infection on our patients and their families. “While the vaccine is not mandatory, it is recommended that everyone gets the vaccine when it is offered to them. Getting a Covid-19 vaccine should protect from the serious complications of Covid-19 and reduce the illness and deaths caused by this virus.”
Lorna Quinn, assistant director of nursing at the Galway hospital, and one of the peer vaccinators who will deliver the Covid-19 vaccine to staff based in the hospital, was the first staff member in the Saolta group to receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. She received the vaccine from her UHG nursing colleague Michelle McNamara Nee.
The vaccine was one of the 10,000 doses received by the HSE on December 26. By the end of this week,over 500 staff will be vaccinated at UHG and the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination to other hospitals, including Sligo, will continue over the coming weeks.
Paul Hooton, Saolta Group chief group director of nursing and midwifery, said: “This is the start of the national Covid-19 vaccination campaign.
“While we have begun the vaccination of staff in UHG we will be working on the rollout of the vaccination across all our Saolta group hospitals as we receive vaccine supply.”