Wigan pharmacy becomes borough's first community-led Covid-19 vaccine site

A Wigan pharmacy has become one of the first community-led sites in the region to deliver the Covid-19 vaccine.
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A Wigan pharmacy has become one of the first community-led sites in the region to deliver the Covid-19 vaccine.

The man heading the operation there said he hoped many more will follow suit, backing our JPI Media Shot in the Arm crusade to fast track the jab with as many pharmacies as possible and as soon as possible.

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More than 170 Wiganers came through the doors at Hollowood Chemist yesterday, to receive their first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Allan Williams gets his first vaccine by pharmacist Sunil Patel  at Hollowood Vaccination Centre, Mesnes Street, Wigan,  set up by Hollowood Pharmacy, to administer the Covid-19 vaccinationAllan Williams gets his first vaccine by pharmacist Sunil Patel  at Hollowood Vaccination Centre, Mesnes Street, Wigan,  set up by Hollowood Pharmacy, to administer the Covid-19 vaccination
Allan Williams gets his first vaccine by pharmacist Sunil Patel at Hollowood Vaccination Centre, Mesnes Street, Wigan, set up by Hollowood Pharmacy, to administer the Covid-19 vaccination

Mesnes Street was one of six sites across Greater Manchester to start delivering the injections, as the NHS accelerates the biggest inoculation programme in its history.

These new sites will support efforts to get the vaccine out to those in high risk groups, as quickly as possible.

Other venues across the city region included a sports club in Whalley Range and a community centre in Larkhill.

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The new pharmacy-run sites join the vaccination centre at the Etihad campus, 15 hospital hubs and 55 GP-led facilities, in rolling out the Greater Manchester Covid-19 programme.

Pharmacist Justin Budworth at Hollowood Vaccination Centre, Mesnes Street, WiganPharmacist Justin Budworth at Hollowood Vaccination Centre, Mesnes Street, Wigan
Pharmacist Justin Budworth at Hollowood Vaccination Centre, Mesnes Street, Wigan

Hollowood pharmacist Sunil Patel said there was a positive atmosphere as the first patients began to arrive yesterday.

“It’s been brilliant, it’s been very smooth”, he said.

“We’ve had a good patient experience. We are there to look after them. They are elderly patients who are the first being called by the NHS. It’s been a good day to look after them.

“Hopefully we can help vaccinate the population and keep everyone safe.”

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He added: “We’ve got a great team spirit. We’re hear to look after each other and our patients. It’s great to be involved.”

Hollowood will be operating 12 hours a day, from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, to make sure they vaccinate as many vulnerable residents as possible.

Sunil explained the long process the pharmacy had to go through before being approved to administer the vaccines.

He said: “We had to apply to NHS England and provide a suitable site to carry out the vaccination. It was quite a strict process of application. Once we completed that, we designed the vaccination centre ourselves, which went through a series of checks with the CCG, and with the council, to make sure everything was viable and safe to operate.

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“End to end, the process was a few weeks. It was tough going, but we’re proud to have set up a centre in Wigan.”

The programme at Hollowood follows the launch of the Shot In The Arm campaign by the Wigan Post and its sister titles across the country, urging the Government to allow local pharmacists to carry out vaccinations in their communities.

Sunil agreed that all community pharmacies should have the chance to deliver the vaccine, but that logistical issues would need to be solved first.

He said: “There are some technical difficulties involved. That’s the only problem for all community pharmacies - doing it on the scale we’re doing it at. For example, we have had 171 patients booked to see over the 12 hours.

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“That’s the difficulty, but absolutely I am sure, in the future as we get more models coming out of how we can operate more effectively on community pharmacy sites, I’m sure every community pharmacy could offer the service we have.”

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