North Wales mass vaccination centres receive clean bill of health from inspectors

Two mass vaccination centres in North Wales have received a clean bill of health from inspectors.

Healthcare Inspectorate Wales has today published a summary of the findings from inspections of the centres based at two rainbow hospitals at Deeside Leisure Centre in Flintshire and the Bangor University sports centre in Bangor.

Throughout March, officials examined the arrangements put in place at the centres to manage the risks to people’s health and safety whilst attending for a vaccination.

Overall, they described the range of infection prevention and control measures implemented as “excellent”.

Feedback provided by patients via a survey was also said to be “very positive”.

A report on the inspections states: “It was evident that a significant amount of work had been undertaken at pace by the health board to provide temporary environments and sufficient resources to deliver their mass vaccination programme.

“We found clear management structures in place to oversee the safe implementation of the programme.

“We were assured that appropriate arrangements had been established for each stage of the vaccination process, and that safe care was being provided to patients.

“An excellent range of infection prevention and control measures were in operation to help reduce the risk of infection and keep patients and staff safe.

“Patients that completed the HIW survey provided very positive feedback of their experiences at the centres.”

Among the positives highlighted were that volunteers and clinical staff spoke to patients in a friendly and
respectful manner, patients were being assessed for symptoms of COVID-19 before being allowed to enter the centres and felt that they were able to maintain their dignity, privacy and modesty during their appointment.

The only areas for improvement identified were that waiting times for patients should be monitored to ensure they are kept to a minimum wherever possible and communication on staff rotas should be more timely and transparent.

Alun Jones, interim chief executive of Healthcare Inspectorate Wales said: “It is clear that health boards have undertaken an extraordinary amount of work in planning and preparing for the delivery of vaccinations in their regions to help protect people across Wales from COVID-19.

“Through our work, it was evident that in the vast majority of cases, arrangements in place were safe and efficient in delivering vaccinations, despite the scale, pace and complexity of temporary sites and teams.”