Home of Huddersfield Town used as COVID-19 vaccination centre
- Roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations continues in Kirklees
- John Smith’s Stadium opens its doors to support the vaccination roll-out
- Town’s home is one of 50 large vaccination centres across the country
The home of Huddersfield Town, the John Smith’s Stadium, has opened its doors to support the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations.
Town’s ground is one of 50 large vaccinations centres that have been introduced across the country and the first vaccines were rolled out yesterday (Monday 1 February 2021). Health chiefs have said they can treat around 2,000 patients every day.
Staff from Locala and Local Care Direct were joined by Military Personnel and volunteers to deliver the vaccinations at the centre, which was set up with support from Curo Health GP Federation.
Large vaccination centres are part of NHS plans to step up capacity and roll out the vaccine more widely, complementing the local vaccination services being provided by groups of GP practices for their patients. They have been located in areas with good public transport links or parking facilities, and in venues that allow flexibility for services to be expanded as required.
People in the nationally agreed priority groups who live 30 to 45 minutes’ drive from any of the open vaccination centres are receiving invitation letters from the NHS national booking service. This will explain how to book appointment at any of the centres that are open, including those at community pharmacies.
If people prefer, they can wait to receive an invitation from their GP practice for an appointment at their local centre or choose to wait for the other centres to open over the next few weeks.
Steve Brennan, Senior Responsible Officer for the vaccine programme in Kirklees said:
“We are delighted to be taking the next step in our vaccination roll-out by opening the centre at John Smith’s Stadium. This will help us to vaccinate greater numbers of at-risk people as quickly as possible and adds to the range of options that are available for people in Kirklees to choose from.
“Setting up the centre has been a real team effort: partners from the NHS, Curo Health GP Federation, Locala and Local Care Direct have worked tirelessly to get the centre ready and provide a safe environment for people to have their vaccinations in.
“We have had a great response from people who have been invited for a vaccination so far but please do not worry if you are in one of the first four priority groups and haven’t been contacted yet. We are working hard to offer vaccinations to everyone in the first four priority groups as quickly as supplies allow and will contact everyone over the next few weeks to book their appointment.”
People who book into a vaccine centre will be greeted by staff and volunteers who will marshal car parks and walkways around the stadium and register them when they arrive. Bookings are staggered to allow social distancing.
They will receive a pre-vaccination assessment before they have their jab which is being administered by nurses from Locala and Local Care Direct.
Parking will be in the Town Avenue car park and the vaccinations are taking place in the concourse of the Chadwick Lawrence Stand.
Managing Director at the John Smith’s Stadium, Gareth Davies, added:
“We have been working closely with the NHS since November in order to ensure that the John Smiths Stadium would be part of the local solution to the pandemic. It‘s taken a lot of work, requiring the full support of Huddersfield Town and the Giants, to bring this about.
“The end result is that The Chadwick Lawrence Stand today becomes one of the countries large scale vaccination venues, so we should all be very proud of that.”