New vaccination centre opens today at Wing Hall Trust

Wing Hall Trust, Leighton Road, is playing its part in the downfall of coronavirus, as the community hub will open its doors to the first patients this afternoon.

The site will be run by Jardines Pharmacy, which also has vaccination centres in Biggleswade and Buckingham, and its new volunteers undertook their training on March 1.

Jeanie Mining, operations manager at Jardines Pharmacy, said: "We felt that there needed to be something for the local community, as for some people travel can be difficult to [vaccination centres in] places like Leighton Buzzard.

"In Wing our patients are relatively mixed - we have a lot of elderly, a lot of people are carers and we have a lot of young families in the area.

"The local village hall is very much part of the community. People don't have to travel very far, there are no parking restrictions, and it is wheelchair accessible."

Jardines has a pharmacy on Wing High Street which is owned by Has and Krishan Modi, which Jeanie describes as being like a community hub.

Jeanie said: "I think the community is really close knit and the feedback we have had from the pharmacy is that people are glad that something is close to them and I feel proud to be part of it.

"I have had my vaccine done by Jardines and it's quick and easy. We are happy to answer any questions that patients may have."

Patients will be able to book appointments if they have had a letter or message from their GP. All bookings must be made according to the instructions given by their GP surgery.

Unfortunately, Wing Hall Trust cannot accommodate any walk in appointments as it has a set supply of vaccine.

At first, it is expected that the vaccination centre at Wing Hall Trust will open for two to three days per week (this could increase subject to demand and how many vaccination doses they are able to obtain).

On March 1, 12 volunteers completed their training for the vaccination centre, with the applicants whittled down from nearly 300.

The volunteers range from former midwives, to cabin crew members and former dental nurses.

On the importance of having your vaccination, Jeanie added: "I think it's about time we need to give something back [to the NHS]. This has been going on for over a year now, and we need to get back to some sort of normality."

Jardines is a family-owned business that owns 25 pharmacies, many of which are in the Milton Keynes area.

Wing Hall Trust will be its third pharmacy led vaccination site and the Jardines team are pleased to be able to offer this service to Wing and the surrounding areas.