QEH King's Lynn vaccinating 450 a day, as healthcare workers come out of retirement to help

Former healthcare workers are answering the call to help with dispensing vaccinations at Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The staff have been working non-stop to give out the vaccine, which is also provided for the considerable amount of staff at the QEH.

Pauleen Pratt told the Lynn News that the centre manages to vaccinate around 400-450 people a day and will be moving on to the next age bracket as soon as possible.

Pauleen is one of the heroes that has chosen to come out of retirement more than once to help her colleagues after years of being a practising nursing sister.

“Some of these people haven’t been out of the house since last March when the first lockdown was announced, so it’s really emotional to be part of that, seeing the vaccine give them confidence and a new lease of life.”

Even dentists such as Dr Abigail Britton have offered up their services to assist in getting as many vaccinations done as possible.

Abigail said: “We have transferable skills so of course we wanted to help out as much as we can, we are medically trained and it’s a great cause to be a part of, it’s a moment in history.

“I work two days a week as a dentist and two days a week here.

“I’m used to above the neck, but it’s been brilliant, a lot of us felt we were not able to help and we are proud to be able to transition to do this, everyone here is so happy to have the vaccine and it gives them hope.

“I have had the vaccine myself, and it has helped curb some anxiety, even though I’m very confident in the PPE I wear there will always be residual worries, and I hope it helps the patients feel the same.”

The centre is equipped for social distancing measures and has a waiting bay for the patients who have had their vaccine.

This is to ensure that they will experience no adverse effects within half an hour of receiving their jab.

QEH is one of the largest hubs in the West Norfolk area, with several others in Swaffham, West Lynn and a view to creating more hubs for smaller towns such as Downham in the coming weeks.

The rollout of the the Pfizer vaccine has limited the hubs due to the conditions the vials must be kept in, yet as the Oxford vaccine becomes more readily available the vaccine will be kept as local as possible to prevent vulnerable people travelling too far.