Derbyshire surgery offering flu jabs at crematorium 'drive-through' to reduce Covid-19 risks

A Derbyshire medical centre is offering flu jabs at a drive-through clinic in the grounds of a crematorium to reduce the risk from coronavirus.
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Somercotes Medical Centre has already delivered 800 vaccines at Swanwick’s Amber Valley Memorial Park while ‘minimising any exposure risk to both patients and staff’.

Doctors say feedback from people attending the clinics ‘has been very positive’.

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Dr Elise MacLachlan, senior partner at Somercotes Medical Centre, said: “When the Covid pandemic was declared, we had to find a way to safely deliver vaccinations to a large proportion of our practice population in the safest way possible.

A Derbyshire surgery is using a drive-through clinic at a crematorium because of Covid-19. Photo for illustrative purposes only.A Derbyshire surgery is using a drive-through clinic at a crematorium because of Covid-19. Photo for illustrative purposes only.
A Derbyshire surgery is using a drive-through clinic at a crematorium because of Covid-19. Photo for illustrative purposes only.

"This has been an anxious time for many of our patients and they have taken measures to protect themselves and limit potential exposure to covid, and we needed to ensure that we supported them in doing this.

“We considered a drive-through clinic to be the safest way to deliver a lot of vaccinations within a short time frame, but we needed an outdoor site with good road access to enable us to do this.

"We approached Amber Valley Memorial Park and they very kindly agreed to open up their outdoor space especially for us to use.

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"This has enabled us to deliver 800 vaccines whilst minimising any exposure risk to both patients and staff.”

The medical centre has continued to offer influenza vaccinations at the surgery for those without access to a car or those who preferred to be seen in the surgery.

Jamieson Hodgson, business development director at Memoria, said: “We have been delighted to be able to support the Somercotes Medical Centre in providing a safe and secure location for their autumn drive-in flu vaccination clinics at Amber Valley Memorial Park and Crematorium.

"The clinics are arranged by appointment at a specific time and all vaccinations are administered without the need for the patient to leave their vehicle.

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"In these uncertain times, we are happy to support the local community in any way we can.”

The final weekend clinic will take place on Saturday, October 24. Clinics are by appointment only, and those getting vaccinated have been contacted by the practice.

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