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University of Wolverhampton staff join vaccination effort

17/02/2021

Members of staff from the Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing are supporting the Covid-19 vaccination effort.

Lecturer in Health Faye Middle is currently providing vaccinations during her free time at weekends while Senior Lecturer in Adult Nursing Sarah Gaytten is raring and ready to go after completing her training. 

Faye has been supporting the effort all over Telford and Shrewsbury in her free time at weekends and has loved being a part of the national effort. She said: “It has been really emotional.

“There’s so much relief in people’s faces when they come to us and they are all so grateful; it really hits home how important this is and how big a difference a small thing can make. It also makes you appreciate how amazing our scientists are to have produced it.

“I’ve vaccinated people who haven’t seen another person in the flesh for months. One elderly gentleman welled-up while he was with me as he saw it as a big step to the future and being able to see his loved ones again.”

Joining the vaccination effort was something that Faye was keen to do. She added: “I was desperate to play my part in this; being a nurse, it’s in my DNA. As soon as the email came out calling for help, I signed up.

“You really feel like you are part of history.”

Sarah is also keen to be involved. She said: “I have built up quite a special professional relationship with my colleagues within the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital Trust and am acutely aware of the pressures they are all experiencing and have been since the first lockdown last year.

“During the first lockdown all registered nurses were requested by the Department of Health to assist in supporting the NHS. At that time I had just returned to work following compassionate leave and adjusting back to my role as a senior lecturer was stressful and very demanding, especially when coping with the changes lockdown brought.

“I didn’t feel I would be of any value to my colleagues out in the NHS, which did make me feel very frustrated and a little sad.

“However I am now well and feeling much stronger and I felt that with my nursing skills and knowledge I could be useful to the team of vaccinators and help with the roll out of this mass vaccination programme.”

Sarah has already attended her e-learning and one day’s training at New Cross Hospital and attended the vaccination hub to introduce herself.

Sarah added: “I’ve worked one shift so far within the vaccination hub and this has been only part of my training but it was very insightful.

“I am proud to be able to offer my services as a nurse to the NHS and very proud to be giving back. It felt really good to be in uniform again. I would very much like to be part of this vaccination process from a personal and professional perspective.”

Professor Geoff Layer, Vice-Chancellor, said: “To support our local community through the pandemic, we currently have around 120 third year student nurses who have chosen to be deployed to the frontline and nearly 2,000 University of Wolverhampton students from nursing, paramedic science and social care courses on placement supporting frontline health roles to support our local community through the pandemic.

“The majority of our students and staff live in the local area and this is what makes the University such a major part of the community.”

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