Almost 200 staff at Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service helping with Covid jab roll-out
Almost 200 Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service workers have been lending a hand in the major roll out of the coronavirus vaccine across the county.
The service has redeployed staff in an effort to support partner agencies as the programme is extended.
They have helped to get vaccination centres up and running at the Shrewsbury indoor bowls centre, Ludlow Racecourse and Telford International Centre, and are poised to help with efforts to get a fourth site at Oswestry open soon.
Tasks have included training 34 staff to vaccinate, providing mental health support to front line workers, helping to coordinate teams on site, medical assistance and traffic management roles.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service station manager Tom Hatfield said: “This has been a fantastic response from our teams. I’d like to thank everyone involved that has been working hard to co-ordinate this response.
“It’s been no mean feat organising teams in such a short space of time but we’re grateful to everyone who has played a part in helping this happen.
“We are adding huge amounts of value to public safety, some visitors to the clinics are frail and in need of assistance.
"Having the fire service there provides reassurance that they are in safe hands from the moment they arrive and until they leave the site.”
Chief Fire Officer Rod Hammerton said: “This is where we do our best work, at the heart of our communities and I’m overwhelmed by the support and praise we have had from the public attending the vaccination sites.
“Public safety is our mission, and we aim to offer support wherever we can to our health and local authority partners to assist with the vaccine roll out.
"We have a vested interest in it running as smoothly and quickly as possible to make our communities safe again.
“I’d also like to reassure the public that we have been carefully planning how staff are allocated to ensure we can still maintain emergency cover across the county and continue to work with people in their homes throughout this pandemic."
