It is such a relief that people we support and staff at Camphill Village Trust are starting to receive their first Covid-19 vaccinations.
All Camphill Village Trust frontline care and support staff and community members at Ashfield House, Stourbridge and at Botton Village, who wished to be vaccinated against Covid-19, will receive their first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine over the next two days.
People we support at Ashfield House, a residential care setting are being vaccinated by Cookley Medical Centre, the local GP practice.
Kristy Briscoe, Registered Manager at Ashfield House said. ‘We’ve had a tricky time with COVID-19 cases, particularly towards the back end of last year. The medical lead at our local surgery is aware of the issues we faced. So it was a huge relief to put plans in place to vaccinate our colleagues and the people we support.’
Temporary vaccination hub
At Botton Village, a temporary hub is being set up in the Joan of Arc Hall, to be used by the local GP practice, Danby Surgery.
The hub will operate within COVID-19 guidelines, with individuals invited to attend at a specified time slot, with a one-way system in and out of the hall and social distancing measures in place.
We are grateful to both Danby Surgery and Cookley Medical Centre for their support.
People with learning disabilities are six times more likely to die from the virus than people of the same age and sex, according to a recent report from Public Health England.
Steven James, Acting General Manager said, ‘This is a huge milestone for our community. We support many vulnerable adults here at Botton Village. It is extremely reassuring to  know that our community members and colleagues will now receive some protection against the effects of COVID-19.’
A positive step forward
We fully understand this is not a solution in itself. As a Trust, we will continue to observe and promote all good practice in relation to our care and support.
Nevertheless, it is a step forward and a boost to the overall morale during these challenging times.
The vaccine programme across the Trust nationally is slowly taking shape and is community by community at present. The Trust is working hard at both a national and local level to get Shared Living communities included in the first wave of vaccinations alongside care homes.
Updated 19th January 2021
Community members at Delrow Community, Watford have also received their first COVID-19 vaccination.
