Covid-19 mass vaccination centre opens in Chichester
It's the first to be based in the city centre
Last updated 18th Feb 2021
The first mass vaccination centre to offer coronavirus jabs in Chichester has opened its doors.
From Thursday (February 18th), residents are being offered the chance to book appointments at the Westgate Leisure Centre in Via Ravenna,
The service is by appointment only, with vaccinations delivered by teams from the Sussex Community Foundation Trust.
It's the fifth vaccination centre opened by the SCFT since the start of 2021, joining others in Crawley, Brighton, Eastbourne and Etchingham.
Initially, the Chichester vaccination centre will be available for people aged 65 and over, and for anyone in the top four priority groups (those aged 70 and over or clinically extremely vulnerable) who have not received their vaccination yet.
Siobhan Melia, Chief Executive of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“I’m delighted we are able to open a vaccination centre today in Chichester for residents across Sussex, and I want to pay tribute to all teams from SCFT who have been involved in making this happen.
“The opening of this centre today follows the launch of other vaccination services across Sussex, and is all part of making the COVID-19 vaccination as accessible as possible to the communities we serve.”
Residents who are eligible for a vaccination, and who live within a 60 mile radius of Westgate Leisure Centre, are being written to directly by the NHS and invited to book an appointment through the national booking system, either online or by calling 119.
Amy Galea, Executive Director for the Sussex COVID-19 Vaccination Programme said:
“It has been fantastic to see what has already been achieved in the Chichester district for local residents.
"With the four local GP led vaccination services we have met the national target to vaccinate more than 90% of all those in the top four priority groups, everyone in those groups has been offered the vaccination, and anyone remaining who wants the vaccination will have their appointment very soon. This is incredible in just 10 weeks and testament to the teams across Chichester.
“The addition of this new centre in Chichester will provide further capacity and ensure that we can vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible.
"It will work alongside our GP led vaccination services in this area and will mean that everyone in each eligible group can be vaccinated as close to home as possible, and we can roll this out to our communities as fast as we can.”