Covid-19: How did Saxmundham end up as the 'most-vaccinated' area?

About two-thirds of Saxmundham's population has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine

The most-vaccinated area of England lies in a small corner of Suffolk. How and why has Saxmundham and Coldfair Green ended up topping the list?

What does the data say?

Stop a person in a street of the market town of Saxmundham - known locally as Sax - and there's a two-thirds chance they will have already been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Of the roughly 8,000 people living in the area - referred to as Saxmundham and Coldfair Green in the NHS England data tables - 66% have been vaccinated, nearly twice the 38% national average.

'It is absolutely brilliant'

Jan Rose (left) and her partner Neil Meadows received their vaccine on the first week it was available in Saxmundham

Those living in Saxmundham and its environs seem in no doubt as to why their population is so well vaccinated.

The success, they say, is all down to the local GP surgery, and one doctor in particular: Dr Havard.

Jan Rose, 74, has lived in Saxmundham for the past three years with her partner Neil Meadows.

They both received their first dose of the vaccine on the first weekend it was available in Saxmundham.

"We were very lucky," she says. "You can't fault it, it is absolutely brilliant.

"I think the care [from] the Saxmundham doctors and the volunteers has been exceptional. It has been really, really good."

Viv Wills-Crisp says the success of the vaccination rollout in Saxmundham was largely down to the town's GP

Viv Wills-Crisp, 72, lives three miles from Saxmundham and has been vaccinated.

"It was really quick," she says. "It was just very efficient. I had a phone call and I was straight in. I was keen to get it and it is good. We have that greater sense of safety.

"I think Dr Havard is pretty savvy on these things. He really got it moving here and I think that's the main reason."

Robert Ney is looking forward to booking a holiday in the south of France later this year

Robert Ney, 68, was vaccinated eight weeks ago.

"The surgery was very efficient here," he says. "I think with the age population here being slightly older, plus the fact that Dr Havard was very keen to get everybody done, I think that is why the number of people vaccinated has been so high.

"Everybody I've spoken to has had it. He has done it so well. Everybody wants it done.

"It has been pretty difficult this past year not being able to see my family," he says. "It must be very difficult for the youngsters [lockdown]. You only get one teenage period, you can't go back and live it again.

"I will be looking to book things up to go away to France."

'Not one person failed to turn up'

Dr John Havard says it is has been a "real community effort"

The man frequently named by those in Saxmundham as being responsible for the town's vaccination success takes no personal credit.

"It's so much more than the doctors and nurses," says Dr John Havard, a partner at Saxmundham Health.

The vaccinations started in Saxmundham on 16 January.

"It's the administration team," he says. "They've been working from home to organise everything and the volunteers have been absolutely amazing.

"People have been phoning up to say 'can we help?'. It's been a real community effort to make it work.

"Our demographic is quite old," said Dr Havard. "Those are the people who really want it [the vaccine].

"When I think back to the first snowy day, I'm sure a lot of these over-80s looked out of the window and thought 'first snow of the season, I'm not going in for that'.

"But yet they didn't, they said, 'where are my wellies?'. Not one [person] failed to turn up. Just stunning."

Ellie Brigginshaw says she is really proud to be "part of a community that has been able to vaccinate as many people as possible"

That community effort has made Ellie Brigginshaw, a junior designer at The Cotton Tree, very proud of Saxmundham.

"I think it's a perfect example of everything pulling together to work as a team when we need it most," she says. "It's amazing how quickly everyone is being vaccinated, our NHS is amazing.

"The streets have been really quiet for the last few months so it will be nice to see the hustle and bustle of the town again."

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Michael Golding volunteers as secretary on Saxmundham's patient participation group (PPG).

"We knew very early on in this pandemic that there was going to be a vaccination rollout so we planned for it very early," he says.

By the time the first jabs were being delivered, 67 volunteers - from the PPG, local good neighbours scheme and members of the public - were in place.

"It's a good lesson for health and other service providers. If instead of doing to, you do with and you make that meaningful by making it equal and reciprocal, look what you can achieve.

"Hopefully, the full rollout will be here and what an achievement that will be if we can do 100% or close to 100% of the Sax population."

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