Shropshire Star

Royal Shrewsbury Hospital picked to take part in first wave of Covid jabs

The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has been chosen to take part in the first wave of UK Covid vaccinations next week.

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Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, (SaTH) which runs the RSH and Telford's Princess Royal Hospital, will be among the first 50 hospital hubs to administer jabs.

People aged 80 and over, alongside care home workers and some NHS workers, will be the first to received the jabs.

The vaccination programme will officially start on Tuesday.

More Covid-19 coverage:

Today Dr Arne Rose, executive medical director at SaTH said: "We welcome the news that the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has been selected to be one of the first 'hospital hubs' in the country for the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

"We're working as a joined-up local health and care partnership, including the NHS, local government organisations, independent organisations and voluntary sector groups, to ensure that we prioritise those at highest risk for the vaccination, as outlined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

"We would like to remind people that they should not come to the hospital for a vaccine and the NHS will contact people to arrange an appointment to attend.

"This will be a rolling programme and further sites will be added in the coming months.

"In the meantime I’d like to urge everyone to be patient, remain vigilant and follow your local Covid-19 restrictions."

Kickstart

Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said: "Despite the huge complexities, hospitals will kickstart the first phase of the largest scale vaccination campaign in our country’s history from Tuesday.

"The first tranche of vaccine deliveries will be landing at hospitals by Monday in readiness.

"The NHS has a strong record of delivering large scale vaccination programmes – from the flu jab, HPV vaccine and lifesaving MMR jabs – hardworking staff will once again rise to the challenge to protect the most vulnerable people from this awful disease."

The life-saving vaccine is typically delivered by a simple injection in the shoulder but there is a complex and difficult logistical challenge to deliver from the manufacturers Pfizer to patients.

It needs to be stored at -70C before being thawed out and can only be moved four times within that cold chain before being used.

NHS staff have been working over the weekend to prepare the sites and accept deliveries.

The 50 hospital hubs in the first wave:

  • Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

  • Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • East Suffolk And North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

  • North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust

  • James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Norfolk And Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Cambridge University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

  • Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

  • Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

  • Croydon Health Services NHS Trust

  • St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust

  • Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • University Hospitals Coventry And Warwickshire NHS Trust

  • Royal Stoke Hospital

  • Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust

  • University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust

  • United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

  • Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

  • Shrewsbury And Telford Hospital NHS Trust

  • Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

  • Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

  • The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

  • South Tees NHS Trust

  • Wirral University Teaching Hospital

  • Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust

  • Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

  • Blackpool Teaching Hospital

  • Lancashire Teaching Hospital Trust

  • Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust - Wexham Park Hospital

  • Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • East Kent Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – William Harvey Hospital

  • Brighton And Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust - Royal Sussex County Hospital

  • Portsmouth University Hospitals Trust

  • Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust

  • Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

  • Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust

  • University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

  • Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • North Bristol NHS Trust