What’s it like inside the UK vaccination centres?

 Back in February, I signed up to train as a Vaccination Volunteer for St. John’s Ambulance. There isn’t a lot to be doing at the moment so I thought I’d try and put my time to good use. I find healthcare fascinating but as a Humanities student, this is probably as close as I’ll ever get to care-related career. Over 30,000 members of the public volunteered to help with the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine, all from different backgrounds, so clearly I wasn’t the only one who thought it sounded interesting!

The training

My training consisted of several hours of online training and a 9-to-5 day of face-to-face training. It feels somewhat odd to say that, in fact, I really enjoyed the training; I learnt a lot about vaccinations, and specifically the Covid-19 vaccine. We did a reassuringly comprehensive review of First Aid and, of course, learnt how to administer vaccinations. It was incredibly thorough and, at the end of the day, I was feeling confident and excited to actually get to volunteering.

“It feels somewhat odd to say that, in fact, I really enjoyed the training…”

There was a slight delay between completing my training and being deployed because the vaccination centres were still being entirely run by the NHS and there was an abundance of volunteers, who all wanted to get started.

At the vaccination centre

When I actually arrived at the vaccination centre for my first shift, I was absolutely terrified. I was scared I’d be completely out of my depth. The centre I volunteer at is still being operated by predominantly NHS staff, and I think most other centres are the same. Health Care Professionals (HCPs) are still administering the vaccine at the moment and volunteers, like myself, are taking on the roles of Patient Advocate and Vaccination Care Volunteer: we are the people helping you before and after the vaccination. In some places, though, there are other centres who are beginning to have volunteers like me vaccinate as well.

Everybody at the centre is so welcoming and friendly, and its lovely to have an insight inside healthcare teams. At my centre, there is a core group of vaccination staff supplemented by other HCPs on overtime shifts, and watching them all working together is incredible. Firstly, they’re like machines. They are incredibly efficient yet never make sacrifices with their compassion. Their teamwork and camaraderie is admirable; they are a newly-assembled team, yet act so cohesively and are still able to chat and laugh together between their duties.

“Every couple of minutes I hear someone being signposted to go over to ‘the lady in green'”

Post-vaccination

I’ve spent most of my shift in the post-vaccination care section. The role itself can be a little tedious at times; I spend most of my time handing out leaflets, sanitising chairs and supervise those who need to wait after the vaccine. It doesn’t seem like the most important role but the staff there are great at making us feel helpful. My most useful attribute appears to be my bright green shirt! Every couple of minutes I hear someone being signposted to go over to “the lady in green” – and honestly, I don’t mind; I could be called worse.

The patients I see on the post-vaccine side are normally pretty relieved or excited to have had their injection. There are naturally always a couple of disgruntled people and in recent weeks, there have been a few anxious over which vaccine they were allocated, but generally the mood inside is incredibly positive. Everyone coming through seems very grateful and the whole experience builds a real sense of community. I’ve found this particularly striking – as I’ve recently moved to Sheffield but have been unable to properly interact with the community outside of my flat, so this has been an amazing opportunity to meet so many new faces!

Ella Gilbert

Follow @ellagilbertx

Featured image courtesy of Hello I’m Nik via Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.