Barrow care home staff 'first in country' to give Covid jabs

Staff at four care homes in Barrow will deliver the jabs

Staff working at four care homes will be the first in the country to deliver Covid and flu jabs to residents, according to NHS bosses.

The trial will take place at sites run by Risedale Nursing Homes in Barrow, Cumbria, this autumn.

NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) said it would be a "nationwide first".

The scheme is expected to free up healthcare workers at GP surgeries.

It is hoped it will also help vulnerable residents, including those with dementia, by involving staff they already know.

​The chief nurse for the Lancashire and South Cumbria vaccination programme, Carole McCann, said nursing staff in homes were "best placed" to administer the doses.

"By providing additional training, residents and staff will be able to access a vaccination at a time and place that best suits their needs."

She said that it was hoped that receiving the vaccine from a familiar member of staff will improve residents' experience of the jab.

"This will also support the local primary care teams - GP practices - who will have some valuable time back," she said

The delivery of jabs in care homes will also encourage staff vaccination, said Ms McCann.

'A real precedent'

Risedale Nursing Homes runs sites including Abbey Meadow and St Lukes, Aldingham and St Cuthberts, Lonsdale and St Georges plus Risedale Dementia and Nursing Home.

Barbara Johnson, its director of nursing, said she was pleased that Risedale was the first in the country to give the jab itself and hoped to "set a real precedent".

She said: "It makes perfect sense for our staff to be given the training to deliver these vaccinations themselves, further enhancing the relationship between staff and residents and freeing up vital NHS resources."