The volunteers who are Melton’s unsung Covid heroes

Tomorrow (Thursday) marks exactly a year since members of Melton Lions Club began marshalling the legions of residents who turn up at the sports village seeking a dose of the Covid vaccine to keep themselves and their families safe.

They enlisted dozens of members of the general public to help them marshal the car park at the Burton Road site, maintain security at the entrance and exit doors and help co-ordinate the remarkable logistical exercise inside, alongside doctors, nurses and the other local qualified vaccinators.

Melton MP Alicia Kearns has thanked the volunteers and said they had done ‘an incredible job serving our community’.

Back in September, their selfless dedication was recognised at our Best of Melton Awards, where they were given the Community Champion/Group or Project of the Year award.

A year on from the start of their remarkable effort, I spoke this week to David Houghton, president of Melton Lions Club and the man in charge of compiling the rota for volunteers at the vaccination centre and who liaises regularly with with the local health authority on what goes on there.

NICK RENNIE: How did the Lions get involved with the Melton vaccination programme?

DAVID HOUGHTON: We had a phone call from the borough council asking if we could help out with marshalling outside because they were struggling to get volunteers there.

We were a club of about 15 in those days so I asked all the members and they all bit the bullet and we did it ourselves to start with.

Then things moved forward and they wanted us to carry on doing it and to start organising the volunteers inside the clinic as well.

After going out on Facebook to ask for support from the general public we received a great response.

We have got something like 15 per shift pattern so if you get a normal 12-hour day we run three shifts and you are looking at anything between 40 and 45 volunteers being involved.

NR: What kind of people are volunteering at the centre and what ages are they?

DH: The average age of Melton Lions Club member is early 70s and we have lots of younger people helping from the public, mainly ladies.

It is people from all walks of life. If you talk to them they all say they want to give something back to the community.

We record the figures regularly and these will astound you. From January this year to November 43,500 people have gone through for their jabs.

We’ve done just under 8,000 hours of volunteering in that time.

NR: Has it always run smoothly because there have been so many changes in the government’s vaccination programme over the last year or so?

DH: When the Melton, Syston and the Vale Primary Care Network, including Latham House, ran it up until the end of June it ran as smooth as anything.

We were doing up to 850 people a day by appointments.

Then they pulled away and the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust took over and since then things have been struggling to get on an even keel if I’m honest. There have been a few 11th hour cancellations for one reason or another.

NR: What have been the main issues at the vaccination centre in recent months?

DH: We’ve been telling people on Facebook about the clinics and I know you at the Melton Times have been publicising them too but they’ve then often been cancelled at the last minute. Then it is hard for us to manage that, when people turn up and they can’t get the vaccine.

Parking has sometimes been a problem especially on Sundays. This last Sunday we had five rugby teams playing up there and when you’ve got the vaccination clinic in full swing you really are struggling with the car park spaces then.

During the week you’ve got Birch Wood Vale School, who take up 50 per cent of the car park anyway.

NR: In terms of the people who visit the vaccination centre, do you get any people who are reluctant to have their jab and do others cause problems when they can’t get a jab on a particular day?

DH: Where people have aversions to vaccinations and injections, a lot of the volunteers have actually walked through with these people.

They make their mind up they are going for it but then they get there and they are a little bit apprehensive.

We generally deal with the difficult people by telling them the walk-in clinic is finished because they are nearly out of vaccine.

You get the odd one but it’s rare that people are so angry that they have a go at you. Yes we’ve had to quieten one or two people down by reminding them that we are only volunteers and that we don’t organise it, we are just helping out.

NR: Do the volunteers have different roles each day or do they stick to the same job at the vaccination centre?

DH: We try and keep them to being either internal or external volunteers. They get used to the role. There are an awful lot of changes that take place and it is easier if you are used to that role to keep up with them.

NR: In terms of a venue, how effective has the sports village been for the vaccine roll-out?

DH: Having volunteered at other sites, Loughborough, Leicester and Oakham, this particular one at Melton works pretty well. It’s a big hall, the throughput is quite good and the parking is not bad as long as you manage it well.

NR: What feedback do you get from the public on the work you are doing there?

DH The work the volunteers carry out is greatly appreciated. The number of people who have sent letters of thanks across to the health authority make it all worthwhile.

NR: How long do you think you will be doing this for? It seems to be open-ended in terms of the vaccination programme?

DH: I understand that the sports hall has been retained until the end of March but with the government saying about a second booster we just don’t know. At my age of 76 I’m not sure whether I shall still be doing this at 78.

Without the general public volunteering with us we wouldn’t have been able to do it - we would have been working all hours.

We have had probably 130 other people working alongside us and we’ve got a nucleus of 60 to 70 people now.

People are still asking us if we need help and they were welcome to get involved.

NR: Are there clinics being held at the Melton Vaccination Centre this weekend?

DH: They’ve been running Thursday and Sunday, 8am to 8pm. But as of this week they have gone and added Friday in because of what the government has been saying this week.

It’s mainly appointments which can be done through the NHS national booking site but I would emphasise there may well be a few walk-ins allowed.

*** Email David at [email protected] if you would like to volunteer at the Melton vaccination centre.