One of our biggest tasks here at Nidd Plus over the past few months has been to recruit, vet, train and deploy around 90 new local volunteers from Nidderdale and the Washburn Valley to help with marshalling patients at the two centres that Harrogate GPs have set up at Harrogate and Ripon. So it was great to welcome the 100,000th person to receive a vaccination at Harrogate Showground on Wednesday this week!
We have been working in conjunction with the five other Community Support Organisations (CSOs) to deliver this service to the Yorkshire Health Network, who are in charge of the centres. The Yorkshire Health Network is a confederation of all the GP practices across Harrogate District.
The other CSOs are based in and around Harrogate, Knaresbrough, Boroughbridge, Masham and Ripon, so it is nice to think that volunteers from the length and breadth of the District have been doing their bit to assist in the rollout of this massive vaccination programme. Assuming that each of the other CSOs have recruited a similar number of volunteers, that means that around 550 volunteers have been assisting on a regular basis since the vaccinations began!
It has been a privilege to work alongside NHS members of staff to deliver the programme in what we feel has been a genuine team effort. The end is in sight now, but getting the 100,000th patient vaccinated feels like a significant milestone and something that the NHS and volunteers alike can be proud of!
Huge thanks to all Nidderdale and Washburn volunteers–your efforts and commitment have been outstanding and we are very proud of you all!