THE first specialist Covid-19 vaccination centre in Worcestershire opens on Monday, and Worcester News reporter Tom Banner was invited in for a look around.

The site, which is located at the Artrix Theatre in Bromsgrove, will see up to 3,500 vaccinations carried out when it is up and running.

Operating via a one-way system indoors, patients enter the main lobby of the theatre and walk round the back to check in and wait to be called.

From there, they walk through to the main theatre on the ground floor, or up to one of the rooms on the floors above, for their vaccination.

 

Traci Walker, operations manager for the site, said work has been going on to prepare the site since October last year, and there was a feeling of excitement around the building as the final preparations were made on Saturday morning.

Dr Gemma Moore, medical director for SW Healthcare, which is running the operation, said: "We're delighted to be opening on Monday to both frontline health and care staff, as well as some members of the public.

"It is absolutely fantastic to see the site come together. I was part of the first team to come and have a look at it as a theatre and helped influence having it as a mass vaccination site.

"It is going to be great, there's loads of parking, three floors and we can really get through big volumes of patients as long as the vaccine supply keeps coming."

Clare Gould, CEO of SW Healthcare, said: "It has been such hard work, we've been working on it since October last year, but it has all really come together in the last four weeks.

"We've got an incredible site manager who has been with us for four weeks and got this all up and running.

"It has been a big effort by all our staff who have worked lots of long days, but it is finally here and we are really excited for it to be here."

Miss Gould confirmed the site will be carrying the AstraZeneca vaccine, and will be able to provide up to 3,500 vaccinations a day once up to full capacity.