Pop-up Covid-19 vaccine clinic comes to Castlefield Community Centre

More than 80 jabs were given at Castlefield Community Centre on Sunday (April 11), with the site operated by GPs with support from organisations including Wycombe Mosque, Wycombe Islamic Society (WISE), Karima, MEC and Jamia Rehmania.

It comes after pop-up clinics were set up at other places around the town – the Wycombe Islamic Centre, which was aimed at residents in the Micklefield, Bowerdean and Totteridge areas – and before that at Wycombe’s Jubilee Road Mosque.

A pop-up clinic has also operated at the Aylesbury Mosque, and more are planned in Bucks for the future.

Dr Sajid Zaib, clinical lead for the Stoke Mandeville Stadium Vaccination Centre and GP at Oakfield Surgery in Aylesbury, is one of the GPs running these pop-up clinics.

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He said: “The success of these clinics highlights how important it is to go into the community to reach people who still need to be vaccinated.

“Making the location and environment comfortable for people who may have some hesitation about getting the vaccine can make a real difference, and we have had great engagement with these patients.

“To date we have attracted people with very diverse backgrounds at these clinics, including members of the Philippinian, Sri Lankan, African, Turkish, Arab, Indian and Pakistani British communities.

“Having female vaccinators available to give jabs in a culturally comfortable, familiar environment has also helped to give a positive experience to female members of the community who may prefer this.

“I would like to thank all our colleagues and partners in the community who have given their tremendous support and cooperation to make these clinics such a success and I would encourage all members of the community to come forward and have their jab when called.”

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GPs from across the county were involved in arranging and running this initiative with Dean Elliot, group commander for resourcing and projects from Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, which is supporting the vaccine roll-out.

Dr Raj Bajwa, chairman of NHS Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “This health initiative continues to be a fantastic example of collaboration between our local communities and the GPs and healthcare professionals who serve them.

“We would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make these clinics happen and we look forward to continuing to work with local communities across Buckinghamshire as the vaccination rollout progresses.”