Practice managers involved in setting up vaccination clinics and helping to maintain them ‘are part of a historic moment’, the NHS medical director of primary care has said.
Speaking during the Downing Street briefing on Monday (8 February), Dr Nikki Kanani paid tribute to ‘NHS colleagues who have been working tirelessly behind the scenes’.
Over the weekend, the total number of people to receive their first dose of a Covid vaccine passed 12 million, according to Government figures – nearing the national target of 15 million people by 15 February.
Dr Kanani said: ‘Whether you are planning the vaccination programme behind a screen or in an office, you’re a car park steward shovelling snow and moving cars around, or you’re a member of the practice management team who is setting up these clinics: you are part of a historic moment.’
She also thanked those who have worked through harsh weather conditions, with snowfall in many parts of the country.
‘That has not stopped us,’ she said, adding that last weekend almost 28,000 received a vaccine every hour teams were operating.
During the briefing, Dr Kanani also urged people over 70 in England to contact the NHS if they have not yet received their coronavirus vaccine.
Kay Keane, practice manager at Alvanley Family Practice and director for the Institute of General Practice Management (IGPM), said: ‘To have been mentioned means that the work of the IGPM is being noticed. We thank Nikki and her team for the support they are giving us.
‘We have long felt that we are the forgotten heroes of general practice – managing strategic, operational and now a massive vaccination programme. The IGPM are working with all UK NHS leadership bodies, the RCGP, BMA and GPC as the leadership and representative body for everyone working in practice management.’
