Saturday 3 April – 10am to 4pm
GP surgery teams are piloting an additional vaccination walk in service on Saturday 3 April (10am to 4pm) in two areas of the county – Gloucester and Cheltenham – for those people aged 50 and over who have yet to take up the offer of their 1st dose.
The bulk of vaccinations have, and continue to be, provided by appointment through 10 GP led primary care network community vaccination centres and associated mobile services across the county.
Excellent progress has been made with the large majority of people in the current priority groups in Gloucestershire receiving their 1st dose.
Now, the local NHS is trialling walk in services at two centres for one day covering areas where uptake, although very good, could be further improved.
Members of the public will be given the opportunity to talk with doctors and other health care professionals at the sites at Rosebank Surgery, Gloucester and St Paul’s Medical Centre, Cheltenham about vaccination and discuss any issues or concerns.
The local NHS will evaluate the success of the walk in service at the two centres to see if the approach could be rolled out to other parts of the county as the vaccination programme develops in the coming weeks.
GP lead at the vaccination centre at St Paul’s Medical Centre, Cheltenham, Dr Cameron Jackson said:
- “Due to the fantastic work of local vaccination teams and the great response from our patients, overall uptake has been great, but some people may have not booked an appointment for their first dose, or been hesitant, for a variety of reasons.
We will have doctors and other staff on hand to talk with those walking in to provide reassurance and information about vaccination and the vaccine.”
GP lead at the vaccination centre at Rosebank Surgery, Gloucester, Dr Jonathan Layzell said:
- “We are really pleased to be able to trial this service, building on the success of the vaccine roll out to date.
We want to reassure local people that we have got a friendly, professional team here on site who are happy to answer questions, provide information and listen to any concerns they might have.
We are encouraging all those eligible people aged 50 and over, who have yet to take up their offer of vaccination, to do so to protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities.”
People are encouraged to walk to the centres or use public/alternative transport options if possible.
Although car parking is available, it is limited and the teams at the centres are keen to keep congestion to a minimum for patients and staff.
Everyone attending will be asked to observe social distancing rules and other precautions so people may experience a wait on the day. The vaccination teams will be grateful for everyone’s understanding, patience and support.
People aged 50 and over should not attend the walk-in service if:
- they have already made an appointment at a vaccination centre in the county
- they have already received their first dose of vaccine or both doses
- they have symptoms of COVID-19, or have had a positive COVID-19 test within the last 4 weeks.