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We supported the NHS Frontline during the vaccination effort

Emma Garland, our Information Governance Manager, recently volunteered her administration experience in Aneurin Bevan University Health Board mass vaccination centre.

As part of a Wales wide vaccination volunteer effort, colleagues from across our organisation gave their time and skills to help NHS staff in various vaccination centres in Wales. Emma shares her first hand experience;

My nearest vaccination centre is my local leisure centre. It was amazing to see the place that is typically used for sports, leisure and music concerts becoming a fantastic space where so many vaccines have been given. It feels right at the heart of the community to have been providing health and wellbeing services during such a difficult time, and also a location delivering the vaccine programme.

It was good to be able to help out as the vaccination programme has been running for over a year now. For HEIW staff to be assisting on the front line when it was needed most was the right thing to do, and something that made a difference. The vaccination programme has been a long commitment for healthboard and trust colleagues in particular, and one that has saved so many lives and meant we could see some of the normality we have all missed over the last few years.

I volunteered in an administrative role. Everyone at the centre was very welcoming and I was quickly trained on using the system, and logging people in so that they could be directed to the vaccinators.

As an Information Governance professional, I typically advise on a lot about systems, but it was nice to be using one for a change! It was new for me to be in an NHS public facing role, but I was soon in scrubs and ready to go! It was clear some people were nervous, but everyone was grateful and polite to the staff and most people were in and out quickly. It was particularly positive to see some teenagers enthusiastic about getting the vaccination, to reduce the risk to themselves and others. Even on the occasions where there were lengthy queues, the process was so well organised that everything kept working.

I am really grateful for the experience. I learned a lot and am proud I got to make a tiny contribution!

Throughout the NHS there are countless volunteers who are all dedicated to keeping people safe and healthy. We are thankful to each and every one of them for their inspiring efforts.

If you would like to volunteer in the NHS Wales, you can by getting in touch here; https://www.wales.nhs.uk/ourservices/contactus/workvolunteeringandworkexperiencequestions

The NHS is the largest employer in Wales with over 90,000 staff. There are over 350 career opportunities including everything from pharmacists to paramedics, gynaecologists to clinical engineers, radiographers to midwives and in vital support services such as administrative and clerical, estates, general/financial management, catering, domestics or health promotion.

See more here; https://heiw.nhs.wales/careers/working-in-nhs-wales/