Staff at Biggleswade's Weatherley Centre 'honoured' to be district’s main Covid-19 vaccination site

The Weatherley Centre in Eagle Farm Road opened as the district’s main NHS vaccination centre last Thursday, with around 1,200 people vaccinated between January 21 and 23.

Despite the news that over 100,000 people have died with Covid-19 in the UK, the staff and volunteers are remaining strong and hope people’s spirits will be raised by news of the centre’s progress .

Speaking about the first week, Maxcine Widdows, operations manager of Jardines Pharmacy - which is organising vaccinations at the centre, said: “It was really good, really, really good.

"All my volunteers have been absolutely brilliant.

“NHS England asked us to help and we are really proud to be part of it.

“We vaccinated around 1,200 people in three days, and we will continue as long as necessary, until everyone who wants to be vaccinated has had it.”

Maxcine added: “Some of our volunteers are active pharmacists, while we also have retired doctors, nurses, phlebotomists, paramedics.

“There’s been an amazing response from Biggleswade. Thank you to every single person that has had a hand in this.

“We give them the vaccination but obviously it doesn’t kick in straight away. They are putting themselves on the front line.”

Jardines Pharmacy is a regional chain of chemists with an outlet on Biggleswade’s Saxon Gate estate, and North East Beds MP Richard Fuller visited its operation at The Weatherley Centre to offer his support to the staff and volunteers administering the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The centre is currently open from Thursdays - Saturdays, but it is hoped that this can be extended to seven days a week.

Weatherley Centre manager Helen Ashton said: “It’s an absolute honour to be involved.

“I knew that it was the ideal site due to the large car park, the layout of the centre and the amount of exits, allowing a one-way flow and sufficient social distancing space.

“This has been reflected in the first few days being such a success, with one patient reporting that they timed someone from the moment they left their car to the time they returned after being vaccinated and this took a grand total of six minutes!”

The vaccination centre will operate throughout the spring and cater for patients registered in the Ivel Valley North Primary Care Network, which covers Ivel Medical Centre and Saffron Health Partnership in Biggleswade, Sandy Health Centre and Greensands (Potton) Surgery.

Patients who meet the criteria for vaccination will be contacted directly and asked to book their appointment via the national booking system. This can be done online or via a phone call.

They should wait until they receive a letter and not contact the centre.

People should only attend once they have booked and arrive at the time stated.

All visitors should arrive by the Eagle Farm Road entrance to the school site, not via Orchard Close, and park in the free car park adjacent to the Weatherley Centre located beyond the outdoor tennis courts.

>Have you had your jab? Tell us about your experience by emailing [email protected]