Council leaders volunteer at Salisbury vaccination centre
Wiltshire Council Chief Executive and Director of Public Health assist with Covid-19 jabs at City Hall
Last updated 19th Feb 2021
Wiltshire Council's Chief Executive, Terence Herbert, and Director of Public Health, Kate Blackburn, have spent an afternoon volunteering at the Salisbury City Hall vaccination centre.
City Hall has temporarily become an NHS large vaccination centre to support the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Both Terence and Kate volunteered for a shift at the City Hall vaccination centre on Tuesday 16 February, each completing a four-hour stint - the standard for any volunteer.
As volunteer marshals, their roles involved greeting people and ushering, carrying out screening questions before people could enter the site, sanitising surfaces, being a friendly face to provide reassurance where needed and making sure everyone felt happy and supported.
WATCH: Kate Blackburn, Wiltshire Director of Public Health
Kate filmed a video diary before and after her shift at City Hall:
Chief Executive of Wiltshire Council, Terence Herbert, said:
"It was a privilege to be able to volunteer some of my time to support the community during this monumental rollout of the largest vaccination programme in British history. It was great to be able to see how much the vaccinations meant to everyone first-hand and to see people so happy, and some quite emotional, to be getting their vaccines."
"We all want to get back to some form of a normal life as soon as possible, and the vaccine offers that chance to get back to the things we want to do."
Director of Public Health at Wiltshire Council, Kate Blackburn, said:
"The rollout of the vaccine is a huge logistical undertaking, and it was great to see the City Hall vaccination centre in action on the ground. My day to day role means that I don't get to go on the frontline as much as I'd like, so I really valued the opportunity to get out there and support people attending their COVID vaccination appointments. It was a real privilege to do and I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon!"
"The joint work of the NHS, partners and volunteers around the county means that we are doing really well with the rollout in Wiltshire, and the vaccine is a crucial step in working our way back towards more freedom."
"Please do make sure you book your appointment when offered the vaccine and continue to follow the rules and guidance after you've had it, as you may still be able to pass the virus on to others."
GET INVOLVED
Interested in volunteering? Contact bswccg.vaccinevolunteers@nhs.net
There has been a fantastic community response so people are asked to be patient.