Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) will become more like Bournemouth ‘injection’ centre as it opens as the local mass Covid vaccination hub for Swanage residents and others across Dorset.
The site is one of ten hubs across England opening on Monday 18th January 2021, that will be capable of jabbing thousands of people a week.
These are in addition to the seven super hubs already operating across other health regions in England, and the local GP-led hub for Purbeck residents at Wareham Hospital.
The 10 new large-scale sites opening from Monday 18th January 2021
- Bournemouth International Centre
- Taunton Racecourse
- Blackburn Cathedral
- Salt Hill Activity Centre, Slough
- Norwich Food Court, Castle Quarter
- The Lodge, Wickford, Essex
- Princess Royal Sports Arena, Lincolnshire
- St Helens Rugby Ground
- Park and ride at Askham Bar, York
- Olympic Office Centre, Wembley, London
The Dorset super hub is in the familiarly named Purbeck Hall at the BIC and has been set up in a very short space of time for such a huge logistical challenge, as the video produced by Dorset Healthcare shows.
“We hope it’s quite an enjoyable experience”
Dorset Healthcare’s director of nursing, therapies and quality, Dawn Dawson said:
“Within Dorset Healthcare we’re very used to delivering immunisation programmes, so we already deliver the flu vaccinations and school immunisations – it’s something we are used to doing but this is on a scale that we’ve never had to do before.
“It will be a really safe experience for people and we hope it’s quite an enjoyable experience – uplifting experience!
“You’ll come into the building, you’ll be assessed by a registered healthcare professional, who will take a little bit of history about you. You’ll then move through to a vaccination area, receive your vaccine and then we just ask people to wait 15 minutes afterwards, to make sure they are fit and well and they’ve got no side effects from having the jab.”
Dorset Healthcare’s director of nursing, therapies and quality, Dawn Dawson
In addition to the local vaccination hub at Wareham Hospital
This facility will be in addition to the local vaccination hub for Purbeck residents at Wareham Hospital. Currently letters are going out to people aged 80 and over inviting them to book an appointment at the BIC but they may also have got an appointment at Wareham Hospital. In that case, they can ignore the BIC letter.
Anyone who cannot or does not want to travel to the BIC can wait to be vaccinated at the local hub at Wareham Hospital.
Care home residents who are unable to travel to vaccine centres, will start to receive their jab at their care home.
“Most important thing that I will have ever done”
Dawn Dawson added:
“It’s the most important thing that I will have ever done in 32 years of my nursing career. This is going to save more lives than anything I could have done by myself and the colleagues around me. It’s such an exciting place to be.”
