Borough's second successful vaccine drive at Wardleworth Community Centre

Following the success of a pop-up vaccine clinic at Castlemere Community Centre, over 200 people were vaccinated in a second clinic at Wardleworth Community Centre on Thursday (18 February).

In the space of two hours, 218 people were vaccinated at Wardleworth, including those over 65 and keyworkers.

The Rochdale Health Alliance clinic was organised in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council, Rochdale Council of Mosques and supported by community champions and volunteers from Living Well.

Recent studies have shown vaccine take-up is significantly lower than average among BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) communities, an issue which the clinic aimed to tackle by reassuring those who may be hesitant.

Most of those attending the clinic were from BAME communities, particularly those of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Kashmiri heritage.
 

Read more: Rochdale holds first pop-up Covid-19 vaccine clinicPublished: 15 February 2021

Wardleworth Community Centre was chosen as it sits in a large Bangladeshi/Kashmiri community. Recent data suggests the Bangladeshi community has some of the lowest uptake in the borough.

Wardleworth Community Centre Manager, Doulot Miah said: “We were approached by Rochdale Health Alliance and the Rochdale Council of Mosques last week to play host to the second of these pop up clinics. We knew this would be a huge success, so despite only getting four days’ notice we prepared the centre to accommodate this much needed service.

“I was really surprised when we had a long queue that stretched around the centre and people were happy to wait. This clearly shows bringing services out into neighbourhoods are better accessed by communities rather than a central hub which people often find difficult to get to.

“We look forward to welcoming the clinic again next month and thank the partnership between the local authority and organisations in putting this vital service together.”

Dobir Miah, spokesperson for the Rochdale Council of Mosques added: “The common thing seems to be that many in the BAME community want to see access to services local to where they live and these pop-up clinics have certainly done that.

“We continue to reiterate our message and firmly believe that vaccination is the best way to combat the pandemic and return to our normal way of life.

“In Islam, preservation of life is of the utmost importance, so we want to do our part to reassure those who are hesitant about vaccination.”

 

 

Dr Mo Jiva, lead clinician at the Rochdale Health Alliance, said: “We had a really good turnout. Having arrived with 110 doses, we soon realised we would need another batch due to the numbers coming through.

“I would like to thank our amazing volunteers who, once again, did exceptionally well to get through so many people in just two hours and for making it a seamless process for those who turned up. We will be doing a number of these over the coming weeks in different parts of the town to increase uptake and reduce any fears in communities."

The next pop up clinic will be held on Thursday 25 February at Deeplish Community Centre.

In addition Lateral Flow Tests (LFTs) been also held from various community venues, for more details please visit the council website www.rochdale.gov.uk/coronavirus.

At present anyone in the borough of Rochdale over the age of 65 can book a test by simply emailing their details (name, date of birth, GP surgery and contact number) to hmrccg.hmr.enquiries@nhs.net or by calling 0300 303 0355.