'Your NHS needs you': Booster jabs call by Shropshire nursing chief

I am always inspired by the efforts of my colleagues who pull out all the stops to give our patients the best experience possible.

This year has been a little bit different. With the threat of another Covid wave looming, it has had to be.

The Omicron variant has been sweeping up the country from the south and we know it has now well and truly arrived in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin. You will have no doubt read suggestions that it may not be as ‘serious’ as other strains of the virus, but it is much more transmissible.

And it is the fact that it spreads so quickly that makes it a big threat, even if a lower share of cases will need hospital treatment. Put quite simply, a small percentage of a huge number still adds up to a very big problem for the NHS – including us here at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford.

If we are overwhelmed with Covid patients, then we will be faced with making some tough decisions. We may have to cancel planned operations or delay outpatient appointments, much as was the case in the first wave. That could impact on your care, or that of your loved ones.

Unlike the first wave, we do have hope in the form of the vaccination programme. That has been a game changer, and it remains our first and best line of defence.

What we now know is that two doses of the vaccine do not give enough immunity to protect most people from the Omicron variant. You do need to get that booster too. It’s why a national effort began in the middle of December to ensure every eligible adult was offered their booster by the end of the year.

Boosters do not stop you getting Covid. What they do do, however, is make it extremely unlikely that you will get severely ill and end up needing hospital care. If everyone gets their boosters, then we can get through the next few weeks. I would urge everyone to get theirs as soon as you can – for your own sake, and for the sake of a family member or friend who may need the NHS to be there for them.

The good news is that we are doing well here in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin. Over the course of the year, we have given out more than one million vaccine doses. By Christmas Eve, more than 70,000 people had received their booster since the campaign launched just 11 days earlier – making us one of the top performing health and care systems in the country.

If you have not yet had your booster, there is still time. You can book your slot by googling ‘grab a jab’, which will take you to the National Booking Service. If you want details of walk-in clinics close to you, then go to stwics.org.uk and click on the banner to find opening times over the next few days for all the vaccination sites in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.

Your NHS needs you. Please play your part.