NHS to leave Salisbury city hall after 290,000 vaccinations

287,923 vaccinations have been administered at City Hall in Salisbury

The NHS is leaving a vaccination centre in Wiltshire after administering thousands of Covid vaccines there.

A total of 287,923 vaccinations have been given out at the City Hall in Salisbury, which hosts its last clinic on January 28.

During one Covid-19 wave in 2021, a total of 1,700 vaccinations-a-day were carried out.

Wiltshire Council will now look for other uses for the building. It failed in a recent bid for levelling up funds.

The leader of the council, Richard Clewer, said: "We are happy that we were able to work supporting our NHS colleagues using the hall as a vaccination centre.

"In terms of the venue, it's unfortunate we were unsuccessful in our levelling up funding and we continue to work hard to look at the options available."

'Bittersweet' to leave

The chief nurse for Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board said the site had delivered over 10% of the total Covid-19 vaccinations in the region.

"While it is bittersweet to leave this venue after so long, we do so in a much better place, with the vast majority of our population now vaccinated against COVID-19," said Gill May

"The height of the pandemic is firmly behind us.

"Of course, we will continue to keep a close eye on COVID-19, and should there be a need to stand-up a large vaccination site in Salisbury in the future, we will absolutely be ready to go again."