The call to save lives

To date, it’s the largest vaccination programme the country has ever seen and to achieve it – we needed to recruit 3,600 people.

As a lead provider of vaccination centres, our job was clear. Our workforce and communications teams swung into action launching a recruitment drive for all levels, from cleaners to clinical leads, vaccinators to administrators. The jobs would mostly be on our staff bank – a system where people can pick and choose shifts according to what they could offer.

Other senior roles in the system, such as site managers, were filled by redeploying existing staff in the trust. We were inundated with applications, from people who had retired years ago to cabin crew on furlough, cleaners, administrators and a multitude of healthcare professionals, all eager to play their part in saving lives.

Meanwhile, our operational team was quickly set up and started identifying potential sites large enough to vaccinate thousands of people, seven days a week. We also needed space for the pharmacy team to prepare and draw up the vaccine, waiting areas and clinical rooms. The sites needed to be value-for-money and provide capacity for social distancing, as well as a one-way system inside.

The first site identified was Folca; the old Debenhams store in Folkestone town centre. Folkestone and Hythe District Council bought the former department store after the collapse of the chain and had been hoping to launch it as a community centre and entertainment venue. The size and location were ideal; but the interior was in need of some cleaning and clearing. The team set to work and set up the site in just three weeks.

During the next couple of weeks we turned a theatre, leisure centre, call centre and empty sports store into vaccination centres, thanks to the help of local council, theatre staff, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Kent Search and Rescue and an army of volunteers.

By the time we had opened our fifth site, we had recruited more than 2,000 people to our staff bank, with hundreds more being interviewed by our in-house teams each week. New starters completed a comprehensive online training course and a one-day staff induction, before they joined #TeamKCHFT, all under the watchful eyes of our trained clinical leads at each site.

Our systems became slicker and better organised, the more we learned; trying to keep waiting times to a minimum, while also making sure people felt safe and cared. Once we had confirmed vaccine deliveries, we could release the appointments to the public and people could book in for a jab on the national booking system. By April, we were seeing the same people, who had turned up with such joy and hopefulness in January, arrive for their second jab.

The numbers speak for themselves. In the course of 16 weeks:

• we processed 2,271 job applications
• recruited 1,766 people
• launched two staff vaccination hubs
• opened five public vaccination centres
• … and by mid-May 2021, we were proudly part of a Kent and Medway-wide system that had vaccinated more than a million people (half a million have had two jabs).

Clive Tracey, operations manager for the vaccination programme at KCHFT, said: “This has been the most incredible journey for everyone involved. The whole team – estates, communications, recruitment, operation, volunteers and the public – rallied round to set up five large vaccination centres in a matter of a few weeks and be part of the life-saving vaccine roll out. It’s our contribution to the national programme and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone who helped.”