Health on the Move hits the road

Date: 21 June 2021

Vaccine van and staff

The COVID-19 vaccination programme is hitting the road across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and parts of Berkshire to bring jabs closer to where people live and work.

Two roving NHS vaccine vans will be offering Health on the Move mobile clinics and supporting pop-up clinics to make it easier for everyone who wants a COVID-19 vaccination to get one. 

Nearly 1.8 million vaccinations have already been delivered across the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire Berkshire and West Integrated Care System (BOB ICS) since the vaccination roll-out began in December 2020. Great progress has been made in ensuring people in priority groups from all communities and locations have received at least one jab.  We are now working to ensure everyone over 18 who wants a jab has one before 19 July.

With our Health on the Move vans, we will go further with the ability to offer 240 jabs a day seven days a week. The vans will be staffed by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust but are the result of partnership working between health and local authorities across the BOB ICS.

There are still some places where uptake of the vaccinations has been slower: among some ethnic groups or because of rurality and geography, vaccine hesitancy and misinformation, isolation, underlying health conditions, access to transport and hours of work.  Health on the Move will aim to serve these groups, as well as promote other public health services, including the winter flu campaign, smoking cessation and health checks in due course.

Dr James Kent, Executive Lead for Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System, said: “This is an important initiative to build on the success of the COVID-19 vaccination programme and a great example of partnership and system working across health and local authority colleagues.”

Oxford Health’s COVID operations director, Tehmeena Ajmal said: “We are delighted to support the two new Health on the Move vans, which have been designed and funded through our partnerships in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and West Berkshire with health and local authority colleagues. These two vehicles will allow us to take vaccines to our residents, and to reach a wider population for health messaging and health checks. Look out for a pop-up clinic near you.”

Robert Majilton, deputy Chief Officer, at Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: "The rollout of COVID-19 vaccination needs to reach everyone with the vaccination offer, ensuring they have the best protection possible from the virus. We know that the Health on the Move vans are a great way to provide access to those who may have otherwise been left behind. Buckinghamshire CCG, alongside our partners in Oxfordshire and Berkshire West, continue to work innovatively to ensure our residents get the best health care and support possible."

Katie Summers, inequalities lead for Berkshire West, said: “We’re delighted the health on the move van is here to help our local population. This is a community venture, which has grown from local community engagement. We therefore hope our communities are encouraged to visit the van and benefit from its vaccination and health promotion service.”

 

  • Summary:

    Vaccines vans to take COVID-19 jabs into the community

  • Transformation:
  • Date:
    21 June 2021