Buckinghamshire’s first large-scaled Covid-19 vaccination site has opened at Buckinghamshire New University’s Aylesbury campus today.

The University has joined forces with the NHS and Buckinghamshire Council to provide the Covid-19 vaccinations, with the site being operated by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

The Aylesbury campus already has a strong track record in healthcare, offering a range of traditional degrees and apprenticeships across the health and social care field, which makes its involvement in the vaccination effort even more fitting.

The University’s latest contribution to helping its local community follows the ongoing operation of its coronavirus testing site in High Wycombe since September and the donation of 13,500 items of much-needed personal protective equipment to the NHS at the height of the pandemic.

Professor Nick Braisby, Vice-Chancellor of Buckinghamshire New University, said: “We’re incredibly proud to be hosting a mass vaccination site at our Aylesbury campus that serves our local communities and helps stop the spread of COVID-19.

“Our testing centre at the High Wycombe campus continues to play a vital role in keeping residents safe, while our healthcare staff and students are helping to save lives on the frontline. We are doing everything possible to help Buckinghamshire fight against this pandemic and progress towards a normal way of living again.”

COVERAGE FROM BBC ONE SOUTH TODAY – OXFORD (8 FEBRUARY)

Ahead of today’s opening, some of the University’s nursing staff helped to train almost 40 Covid-19 vaccinators so that the vaccination site could go live as planned.

Karen Buckwell-Nutt (pictured left below), Director of Buckinghamshire New University’s Institute for Health and Social Care, supported the training and reflected on her pride at being involved:  "Being able to contribute to this national campaign and make a difference in the fight against the pandemic makes me proud to be a nurse, an educator and proud of what Bucks New University represents.”

Joanne Turner, Senior Lecturer in General Practice Nurse Prescribing at the University, also supported: “I really enjoyed the experience and was blown away by the variety of health professionals who attended the training...retired hospital consultants, retired health visitors, occupational therapists, pharmacists, nurses and even a dentist. It was great to see such a public effort!”

The new site will be open seven days a week, from 8am to 8pm and will be capable of delivering thousands of jabs each week but will scale up and down according to vaccine supplies and demand.

Parking for the vaccination site is available from the Walton Street car park, which is opposite the University building.

Volunteers will be on hand to ensure patients get safely from the car park to the vaccination site, which involves crossing over a stretch of dual carriageway at a pedestrian light-controlled crossing.

No parking or drop-off at the University campus site is allowed for pedestrian and road safety reasons.

Anyone approaching this car park from the direction of Aylesbury town centre should please be aware that they need to drive past the vaccination site (on their left, heading away from town) and go around the gyratory system so that they approach the town centre again.