New vaccination centre debuts at Kennet Shopping in Newbury

A new vaccination clinic began to serve the public last Thursday at the Kennet Shopping centre in Newbury, and organisers are already reporting a positive response.

The centre is being managed by Ascent Healthcare, a private company, in collaboration with NHS England.

It is filling a void soon to be left by the Newbury Racecourse site, which is currently winding down operations.

Within its first week of service, the new centre has already administered vaccines to more than 1,000 people.

Members of the public must reach out to be vaccinated at the site, as its rollout is not being organised by GPs.

Anybody who fits the national age criteria can book.

Appointments can be made through the NHS website.

The clinic is expected to operate through to September, although site lead Zohib Sheikh has indicated that it could run even longer.

Mr Sheikh said of the launch: "It was a massive success, thankfully.

"Setting up was a really stressful project, as we only had a short amount of time.

"With the help of volunteers, St John Ambulance and our clinical team, it was a massive, massive success.

"Everybody who came in said it was super-smooth, and everybody was really pleased with the service."

Mr Sheikh emphasises that appoints are limited, and that users may be unable to secure a slot immediately.

He said: "We're hoping to get more doses, because our clinics fill up really quickly.

"People are struggling to book, and we're just liaising with NHS England to hopefully increase our vaccine delivery."