1,800 flu jabs given in one day at drive-thru clinic on Portland

More than 1,800 people have been vaccinated against the flu in a single day on Portland.

Royal Manor Health Care partnered with HeliOps to use the large air base site to create a drive-through flu clinic.

Flu-jab uptake has been a lot higher this year and there's national concerns stocks may run low, although Royal Manor are reassuring patients they still have vaccines in stock.

Cars snaked round the HeliOps one way system, and people were vaccinated while sitting in their cars.

A small cark park was set aside for first time patients to wait 10 minutes in case of side effects, and a duty doctor stood by in case anyone fell ill.

Annette Young is the business manager for Royal Manor Health Care. She described how it went:

"Huge success. It actually made us think 'Why have we not done this before?

"We managed to vaccinate 1800 patients in a one-day session. The community spirit was amazing and we could have asked for it to be any better."

Volunteers like the Portland Rotary Club, the local running club, Dorset Shellfish and the Island Comunity action team drove a minibus to and from the site to maximise the number of people visiting.

It cracks a large dent in the practice's goal to reach 3,000 people with the jab in the area. Ordinarily they would hold clinics in the practice for up to 3 or 4 weeks to see all of the people offered the flu jab free on the NHS due to being in an at-risk group.

Those include people who:

are 65 and over (including those who'll be 65 by 31 March 2021)

have certain health conditions

are pregnant

are in a long-stay residential care

receive a carer's allowance, or are the main carer for an older or disabled person who may be at risk if you get sick

live with someone who's at high risk from coronavirus (on the NHS shielded patient list)

frontline health or social care workers

There are concerns that national stocks of the flu vaccine will run out after a much higher uptake this year, attributed to the coronavirus pandemic.

But, the practice are confident there's enough to go round.

Annette added:

"I think this year the flu uptake has been a lot higher in the UK and definitely in Dorset. I think we have vaccinated more in Dorset at this point is flu season than we have before.

"We work very closely with our CCG and they are in turn working closely with the Department of Health to make sure that there are more supplies coming out to practices so that all eligible patients will be vaccinated."