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Innovation through collaboration: The story of the Covid vaccine rollout At the end of 2020 and earlier this year, across a matter of weeks, extraordinary measures were undertaken to create two high functioning vaccination centres in Thackray Medical Museum and Centenary Pavilion Elland Road, in addition to other vaccinating locations across West Yorkshire.
in January, the Elland Road vaccination centre is now open as an additional option for the general public. Sue Peak, Senior Sister, said: “For me personally, being part of this programme has been a real privilege. I am a neonatal nurse by background moved to a very different environment but the teamwork, positive atmosphere and endgame that we are all working towards, has made it all worthwhile.”
Opening one of the very first Covid-19 vaccination hubs in the world, the Thackray Medical Museum vaccination centre was up and running within just two weeks. The centre began operating out of six pods with a cross-functional team of professionals including pharmacists, nurses, doctors, health professionals, and administration staff, who were recruited and mobilised from LTHT and partner organisations across the city.
Dr Phil Wood, Chief Medical Officer and Senior Responsible Officer for the vaccination programme said: “There have been incredible achievements in science over the past year and we have been witness to some landmark moments in medicine. As a doctor and scientist myself, it has given me great pride and inspiration to see not one, but several vaccines approved for use here in the UK, and our vaccination rollout programme is one of the leading programmes in the world. It’s a leading programme because of the partnerships we have built, across all areas, including healthcare organisations, construction, IT, operations and those who staff the centres from all backgrounds of healthcare What an impressive operation.”
Tim Hiles, Director of Operations of the vaccine programme in Leeds, said: “Collaboration is the word repeated most frequently when talking about the vaccination programme and this is perhaps one of the most impressive, cooperative and forward-thinking collaborations we have seen in a long time, bringing together medical and nonmedical organisations and individuals in the fight against the global pandemic.” Underlying this ambitious project from the start has been the Leeds Improvement Method. The Kaizen Promotion Office (KPO) team have been involved helping observe, measure and shape the project as it developed using the tools of the Leeds Improvement Method. Over the space of a week in December, the Thackray Medical Museum was transformed into an operational vaccination centre, fully staffed, and ready to open for the first uptake. Through changes to processes, observations of patient flow, and improvements to communication refined over the intervening weeks, the Elland
Road vaccination centre had a strong foundation of learning on which to build on, and was set up with the potential to operate at a maximum capacity of 10 pods through the Centenary Pavilion. Joining forces with the Quality Improvement team from Leeds Community Healthcare, the KPO team were able to bring significant experience to the project so that the centre could open rapidly with an efficient process ready to go.
On 20 January, the first health and care staff from Leeds came through the doors to Elland Road for their vaccine, with Dawn Boyle the first person to receive the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine. A housekeeper in neurology for the last four years, Dawn said that she was incredibly excited by the moment: “I like looking after people. When not working, I have been shielding at home with my husband, who has had two strokes, and so this means a great deal to me to get this done.”
Suzanne Slater, Quality Improvement practitioner from Leeds Community Healthcare, said: “We are building on what we have learned through processmapping the experience of our health and care staff and looking at the operational processes and the patient journey to ensure the highest standards of care for our patients.” Initially opening as an extension of the hospital hub for health and care staff
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