Over the bank holiday, we reached a massive milestone with over 50 million vaccine doses administered across the UK, including 15 million second jabs. This is a huge achievement, given we only began the rollout a few months ago.
On Friday, I visited the Selsey Vaccination centre to thank the wonderful staff and volunteers, who have done a remarkable job to vaccinate people across the Manhood Peninsula. Both Selsey and Tangmere Vaccination Centres are part of the Chichester Alliance of Medical Practices, CHAMPS, and together the sites now vaccinate 800 people per day which totals almost 40,000 jabs. I also met Dr Sandy Mtharu and a husband a wife duo, Drs Charlie and Karen Walker who came out of retirement to support the vaccine effort locally. Last but not least, Dr Gupta who retired from St Richards and normally runs Thyme and Chillies Indian Restaurant, which I am planning to visit once restrictions relax further – apparently they can make a meal with less than 800 calories, so I know what I’ll be ordering!
On my visit, we discussed several issues, including some people not turning up for appointments. That day there were 16 missed appointments, which out of 800 may not seem many, however, every jab matters, and they all have a short shelf life. So if you have an appointment booked please do everything you can to attend or change the appointment so that someone else can fill the slot. We also discussed future logistical concerns for booster jabs, if and when they are required. I have taken down the key points and I will be raising them with the local NHS commissioners on my call with them later this week.
Next Friday I will also be holding my second outdoor pub tour in the Southbourne area, following on from my recent one in Fishbourne. If you want to attend, I will share the details in next week’s column as well as on my website, www.gilliankeegan.com, and Facebook page.
