Basingstoke fire station to double as vaccination centre

Author: Maria Zaccaro - LDRSPublished 12th Jan 2021
Last updated 12th Jan 2021

Basingstoke fire station is to be turned partly into a vaccination centre - it's one of four across Hampshire that will be able to deliver up to 3,000 Covid-19 vaccines a day.

The sites will be going live over the next two to three weeks, NHS bosses said but further details are yet to be revealed.

According to NHS bosses, other vaccination services are expected to go live at the University Health Centre in Southampton, Eastleigh Health Centre and Southsea Medical Centre in Portsmouth.

A new hospital hub is instead expected to be set up at Andover War Memorial Hospital.

According to health bosses, the NHS will contact people when it is their turn to receive the vaccine.

The vaccination centres would be in addition to the vaccination programmes rolled out by GP surgeries across Hampshire.

The vaccination centres across the county are going to be delivered by Solent NHS Trust.

Dr Dan Baylis, Chief Medical Officer at Solent NHS Trust, said:

“We are proud that Solent NHS Trust has been asked to support the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccination programme across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. This continues to be such a challenging time for NHS colleagues, and it is testament to the hard work of everyone across the NHS that we are able to deliver this at the same time as continuing to be there for everyone who needs care.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said:

“Basingstoke Fire Station has been selected to be used to support the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme. We are working with our health colleagues to see how we can best support them during the pandemic.The vaccination centre will be taking up part of the building, not the entirety. Therefore firefighters at Basingstoke are not being relocated, neither will this impact our operation or response to the community. A significant amount of work has gone into ensuring that the station remains a safe environment to work in and that we can maintain our operational capacity.”