Vaccination centres get set for a substantial increase in the Covid-19 rollout programme

NHS England last week detailed plans to substantially increase the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination programme across the country.

Whilst acknowledging the impressive start that systems have had in dispensing the vaccines into the community so far, vaccine supply is planned to “increase substantially and be sustained at a higher level for several weeks”, from the week commencing 11^th March, with system leaders asked to make appropriate preparations.

This increase in the rollout programme will allow for the majority of remaining adults across England to receive their first doses in the coming weeks, as well as ensure that second doses are simultaneously delivered to those now requiring them.

Following this directive will require an increase in the number of vaccination and administration staff to ensure smooth delivery, and systems will require effective platforms for managing staff and shifts, both paid and unpaid.

Liaison Workforce has already had great success in developing and implementing a vaccination bank in the Cheshire region; working with the CCG, Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and NHS Midlands & Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit, and enabling collaboration between other system partners including Integrated Care Partnerships, local councils, 18 Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and 79 GP practices to deliver the vital vaccination programme across Cheshire.

Within two weeks of the beginning of the vaccine programme in January 2021, Liaison Workforce’s team had established the requirements of the project and delivered both the bank via mii Bank and a dedicated website in order to allow the vaccination programme to start on schedule.

Over 1,000 clinical and administrative professionals and clinical volunteers were registered within the first two weeks of the bank being live, to ensure shifts were filled and the programme could be supported safely and effectively.

This has reduced pressure on GPs and allowed Covid-19 vaccines to be administered across eighteen initial locations efficiently and quickly.

The technology platform to enable this is ready and available for systems to make use of, in order to ensure they can meet and maintain capacity, and deliver the vaccination programme in the community in their regions.

To find out more, please see our Cheshire Vaccination Bank case study, or get in touch at [email protected]