COVID community update – 16 December 2021

Dear volunteer coordinators and parish councillors,

 

I wrote to you earlier this week to ask you whether you might be able to consider playing a part in the vaccination booster programme – following the Prime Minister’s pledge to offer boosters to all adults by the end of December. I hope the following information will provide some clearer signposting about volunteer and paid opportunities, should you be able, and minded, to do so.

Volunteering as a steward

If you would like to register to help at a vaccination centre as a steward (for instance, helping with queue management) please register via the Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) website. All vaccination sites advertise available shifts here and, once you are registered, you will receive alerts via the RVS app, and you will then be able to register for shifts that suit your schedule. This role will require volunteers to commit to at least 2 shifts at a vaccination site each month, with shifts being up to four hours. A DBS is not required for this role, although you will be asked to declare any unspent convictions as part of the application process.

 

The process to register can be completed in as little as 48 hours, so this is something people can get onboard with fairly quickly and make a tangible difference to the booster programme from as early as next week. Please find out more about the role on the RVS website, where you can also apply.

Administration and vaccinator (paid) roles

The Government has advised people who would like to take up roles that require further training (some of which may be paid roles), to search online for ‘NHS Vaccine Team’. Legislation allows a wider group of staff to undertake training to deliver vaccines. This includes many allied health professionals, healthcare scientists and dental staff, as well as other individuals with appropriate first aid training, who are able to undertake additional comprehensive training; so opportunities for flexible, paid roles are open to a huge variety of people.

 

Additionally, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group – which is responsible for the vaccination programme in our area – continues to recruit paid staff to support the programme.

• They are encouraging people who may be suitable for paid administration roles within vaccination centres to visit www.jobs.nhs.uk and search for ‘Administrator’.
• Or for people who may be suitable for vaccinator roles, please visit www.jobs.nhs.uk and search for ‘COVID vaccinators’ and by location.

 

If we get any further information about other routes to access to local roles more easily, we will pass it on to you.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

 

Bill Handley

Lead Cabinet Member for Community Resilience, Health and Wellbeing

South Cambridgeshire District Council