THOUSANDS more COVID-19 booster appointments are now available across Hampshire and Isle of Wight daily thanks to a new hospital hub, a raft of extra clinics and people coming forward to help.
Less than a week after the Prime Minister announced that every adult should be offered a COVID-19 booster jab by 31 December, teams are delivering more than 20,000 vaccines a day in our communities.
Now thousands more appointments will be made available locally, thanks to the tremendous efforts of health and care teams, supported by dedicated volunteers. This includes:
- A new Hospital Hub Plus at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital which will open from tomorrow (Friday 17 December) for booked appointments
- More capacity for booked appointments at 19 pharmacies across Hampshire and Isle of Wight
- Increased capacity for booked appointments at mass vaccination sites at St James’s Hospital, Oakley Road, Southampton and Riverside on the Isle of Wight which are regularly added to the National Booking Service
Appointments for these sites can be booked through the National Booking Service website or by calling 119 between 7am and 11pm daily. We know that slots are booked up quickly and advise people to check NBS regularly for new availability local to them.
Locations due to open to eligible people in the coming days include:
- A Hospital Hub Plus at Southampton General Hospital
- A Hospital Hub Plus at the Oasis Centre at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth
More information and confirmation of how to access the vaccine at these locations will be provided as soon as possible.
Meanwhile walk-in booster appointments are available at Westridge Leisure Centre, Ryde, on the Isle of Wight.
In addition to ramping up the availability of the vaccine in hubs and clinics, the local NHS is also boosting efforts to reach more vulnerable, housebound people by offering the vaccine in their own homes.
GP practices also continue to work incredibly hard to support delivery of the COVID-19 vaccination programme and in some areas have already more than doubled their capacity, adding additional sites across Hampshire and Isle of Wight. For example A further 800 appointments were provided at the Holiday Inn in Winchester today by primary care colleagues.
Clinical teams are working tirelessly to provide increased capacity to deliver more vaccines to eligible people wherever possible. GP practices continue to invite all adults to take up the offer of a vaccine when it is their turn.
Thanks to support from other NHS Trusts and partners and volunteers, Solent NHS Trust teams continue to deliver thousands of vaccinations daily at mass vaccination centres at St James’s Hospital, Portsmouth, Oakley Road, Southampton and the Riverside Centre on the Isle of Wight.
Dr Matt Nisbet, GP and Clinical Lead of the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme in Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said: “Firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone for their efforts so far and for their dedication and professionalism in stepping up to meet this challenge. Scaling up capacity to ensure everyone eligible can receive their life-saving COVID-19 vaccination or booster is key in tackling the emerging threat of the new Omicron variant.
"These additional locations and slots across primary care, pharmacies and hospital hubs and community services will be vital in ensuring everyone has access to the vaccine.”
More than 3.4m vaccines have been delivered across Hampshire and Isle of Wight since the launch of the biggest vaccination programme in the history of the NHS a year ago.
To meet the latest challenge of the Omicron variant and the need to vaccinate more than one million people a day across the country, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight COVID-19 vaccination programme is recruiting to a number of roles. More information on how to get involved is available here.
We have also seen an incredible response for volunteers across the board and are incredibly grateful for their continued support. If anyone would like to volunteer, please click here.
Notes to Editors
Details of where eligible people can access their booster across Hampshire and Isle of Wight, including walk-ins and booked appointments, are available here and are regularly updated.
How to access the COVID-19 vaccine
We are working to provide more capacity in addition to booked appointments safely as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, more information on how to access the vaccine in Hampshire and Isle of Wight is available below.
- Via a local GP service: GP practices are working together across the county to vaccinate as many people as possible. Residents may be contacted by a different surgery to the one they usually go to. These sites are delivering booster doses and third doses for people who are immunosuppressed.
- At a vaccination centre: In our area we have centres at St James's Hospital in Portsmouth, Riverside on the Isle of Wight and Oakley Road in Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. Eligible people should receive a letter advising them of this route to book an appointment. These sites are offering appointments for booster doses and first doses for children aged 12 – 17. These sites are also offering walk-in options for first and second doses.
- More appointments Hampshire and Isle of Wight are being added to the National Booking Service (NBS) daily. We know that additional appointment slots are booked up very quickly, therefore we would advise people to check regularly for any updates here. Alternatively call the National Booking Service on 119 (open between 7am and 11pm daily. We will provide further updates as soon as possible.
- Some local pharmacies:NHS England and Improvement has arranged for some pharmacies in Hampshire and Isle of Wight to provide the booster vaccination on an appointment basis. People can book an appointment at a pharmacy via the National Booking System online or by calling 119.