The company has teamed up with a group of GPs in the Staffordshire Moorlands and transformed part of its Compact Products plant in Cheadle, Staffordshire, into a vaccination centre. The factory - which manufactures mini excavators - opened its doors to patients for the first time today (Friday) as doctors and their teams began the massive vaccination programme.
The GP practices involved include Werrington, all three Cheadle practices, Waterhouses, Alton and Tean. Practice Manager Jessica Harding, of Well Street Medical Centre in Cheadle, is part of the co-ordination team leading the project on behalf of the practices.
DIGGER FACTORY TRANSFORMED TO DELIVER 40,000 COVID-19 JABS
PART of a JCB factory in Staffordshire has been converted into a medical facility to allow a team of doctors to vaccinate up to 40,000 people against Covid-19.
We are absolutely delighted to be getting under way with our vaccination programme at JCB Compact Products. It is an enormous undertaking to vaccinate 40,000 people from seven different GP surgeries and the support we have received from JCB has been incredible. JCB has invested a huge amount of time and money in providing us with a first class facility and we are immensely grateful.
Jessica Harding| Practice Manager Well Street Medical Centre Cheadle
JCB’s company Doctor Jonathan Graham said: “As the biggest employer in the Staffordshire Moorlands we are extremely happy to help our local GPs deliver such a hugely important vaccination programme. Many of those receiving their injections at JCB Compact Products will have family members who work for the company, so we naturally wanted to help.”
Vaccinations using the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines are by appointment only and began today with those aged over 80. The first two patients to receive the vaccination were retired dustman Jim Walker, 84 and his wife Joan, 80, a former office worker of Werrington.
Grandmother-of-two Joan said: “I didn’t know we were going to be the first patients, so I guess it’s my claim to fame now! I would advise everyone to have the injection – you have got to do it, there are no two ways about it.”