East Sussex COVID vaccination update

COVID-19 Vaccination update: East Sussex
Welcome to your regular briefing from the Sussex Health and Care Partnership on the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme in East Sussex. Introduction
The COVID-19 vaccination programme continues to be rolled out across our communities.
The top line brief from this week is:
 To date more than 625,485 vaccinations have been delivered across Sussex, including 609,333 first doses;
 We have vaccinated 83.9% of people 65 and over (cohort 5). This group will receive a letter in the post inviting them to book onto the national booking system to access the vaccination centres or pharmacy led services, or they can wait to be contacted by their GP led service.
Latest data The latest official national data on vaccinations has been published today, this data reflects vaccinations up to 4 March 2021. For full data: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/
As we achieved the milestone in terms of the first stage of the roll out of the programme, a summary of activity to date for East Sussex is:
• Priority 1 – Residents and staff in a care home for older adults – all older peoples care homes have received first dose vaccinations with the exception of a small remainder of homes who have been deferred due to an outbreak. Vaccinations for these homes have been scheduled.
• Priority 2 – People aged 80+ and frontline health and social care workers and aged 80+ – the majority of people aged 80 and over in East Sussex have been completed. If anyone has not received their vaccination and would like it please contact your GP led vaccination service or the national booking system as soon as possible. Front line NHS staff have received first dose vaccination and we are working to ensure that remaining care staff vaccinations are completed.
• Priority 3 – Aged 75-79. 94.1% of those aged 75-79 have received the first dose vaccination in East Sussex.
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• Priority 4 – Aged 70-74 and Clinically extremely vulnerable individuals 92.7% of those aged 70-74 have received the first dose vaccination. We have identified those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and to date 86.8% have been vaccinated.
• Priority 5 – Aged 65 years and over – 82.8% of those have received the first dose vaccination in West Sussex.
Data shows:
03/03/21 Sussex East Sussex Priority group First dose % First dose %
Age 80+
104,932
94.1%
37,741
93.6%
Age 75-79
72,934
94.3%
27,041
94.1%
Age 70-74
96,444
92.9%
35,693
92.7%
Age 65-69
81,587
83.9%
28,921
82.8%
Clinically extremely vulnerable individuals
96,645
86.8%
32,302
86.8%
How services are working There are a number of ways in which the vaccination is being rolled out to our communities:
 GP led vaccination services – these include the GP led or community vaccination services, and pharmacy services in some areas;  Large vaccination centres – each county will have one large vaccination centre which will be able to give the vaccine to large numbers of people as more supplies become available;  Roving service – the vaccine is being taken into care homes and into people’s own homes if they cannot attend a vaccination site; and  Hospital hubs – larger hospitals across the country have been offering to health and care staff.
GP led vaccination services
The local vaccination services for East Sussex are currently:
Eastbourne
The Beacon Shopping Centre, for patients at:
 Victoria Medical Centre
Sovereign Centre, for patients at:
 Arlington Road Surgery, Grove Road Surgery, Park Practice, Seaside Medical Centre, and The Lighthouse Medical Practice
Princes Park Health Centre, for patients at:
 Harbour Medical Practice, Sovereign Practice, Stone Cross Surgery in Pevensey, and Downlands Medical Centre and Manor Park Surgery, both in Polegate
Hastings
Kings Church, for patients at:
 Beaconsfield Road Surgery, Carisbrooke Surgery, Churchwood Medical Practice, Harold Road Surgery, Hastings Old Town Surgery, High Glades Medical Centre, Priory Road Surgery, Sedlescombe House, South Saxon House Surgery, The Station Practice, and Warrior Square Surgery
Laycocks Pharmacy, Ore
Lewes district
For Lewes: River Lodge Surgery, for patients at:
 Foundry Healthcare Lewes
For Seaford: Sovereign Centre in Eastbourne, for patients at:
 Old School Surgery and Seaford Medical Practice
For the Havens: Brighton Racecourse, for patients at:
 Chapel Street Surgery and Quayside Medical Practice in Newhaven, and Havens Health in Peacehaven
Rother district
For patients in the district there a vaccination service went live last week at:
For Bexhill: Sidley Medical Practice, for patients at:
 Collington Surgery, Little Common Surgery, Pebham Surgery and Sidley Medical Practice
Etchingham Village Hall, for patients at:
 Fairfield Surgery, Ferry Road Health Centre, Martins Oak Surgery, Northiam Surgery, Oldwood Surgery, Rye Medical Centre, and Sedlescombe and Westfield Surgeries
Ticehurst pharmacy
Wealden district
Across the district there are vaccination services available for patients living in and around Crowborough and Uckfield. The services are:
For Crowborough: Saxonbury House Medical Centre, for patients at:
 Ashdown Forest Health Centre, Beacon Surgery, Wadhurst Medical Group, Groombridge and Hartfield Medical Group, Rotherfield Surgery, Saxonbury House Surgery, and Woodhill Surgery
For Uckfield: The Meads Medical Centre, for patients at:
 Bird-in-Eye Surgery, Buxted Medical Centre, Herstmonceux Integrative Health Centre, Heathfield Surgery, Mid Downs Medical Practice, and The Meads Surgery
For Hailsham:
 Bridgeside Surgery, Hailsham Medical Group, Quintins Medical Centre
Large vaccination centres
Appointment only vaccinations centres are now available at:  Westgate Leisure Centre, Chichester, West Sussex  Crawley Hospital, West Sussex  The Welcome Building, Eastbourne  The Brighton Centre The four centres provide further choice for eligible patients to the local GP-led vaccination services that now cover all patients in Sussex and select pharmacy led services that are also available through the national booking system. Appointments for four vaccination centres are available through the national booking system. People in the eligible groups, who have not had their vaccination and who live within 60 miles of a service location are receiving letters inviting them to book their vaccination. People who have received a letter can either use the national booking system to arrange an appointment at a large-scale vaccination centre or pharmacy, or wait to be contacted by their GP led vaccination service (supported by your GP practice) to arrange an appointment.
Roving service (care homes and those who are housebound)
Vaccinations for those who are housebound are underway carried out by GP practice or Primary Care Network teams and Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust.
You will be contacted when an appointment is available.
People are being contacted directly by the team at their GP practice, Primary Care Network or GP led vaccination service to arrange an appointment. Importantly, people will be contacted before a visit is made so that the appointment is confirmed and the person at home is expecting the NHS vaccination team.
At the same time, we understand that people who may be housebound are also receiving a letter from the national booking service inviting them to go online or call the national phone line to book an appointment at one of the vaccination services or pharmacy led services.
Currently the national system cannot distinguish that someone is housebound and so these letters are being sent to all those who are eligible.
If you are housebound and are not able to attend a local vaccination service or centre, please ignore this letter. You are on the list with your GP led vaccination service team and they will contact you – you do not need to call your GP practice or any other team to make an appointment. As soon as an appointment is available you will be contacted directly.
Hospital hubs
There are now seven hospital hub vaccination services in Sussex focused on the vaccination of health and care staff, including care home staff. Health and care staff will be told by their employer how they can book an appointment at one of the following hubs:
 Conquest Hospital, Hastings
 Eastbourne District General Hospital
 Mill View Hospital, Hove
 Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath
 Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton
 St Richards Hospital, Chichester
 Worthing Hospital
Whilst not a vaccination service, it is important to share that Crowborough Minor Injuries Unit will reopen on Monday 22 February after temporary closure. The minor injury unit (MIU) at Crowborough War Memorial Hospital will reopen on Monday, 22 February. The unit is run by Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (SCFT) and has been temporarily closed since 24 January to allow staff to be redeployed to support the local NHS response to COVID-19. We are pleased to let you know that from this coming Monday, 22 February, the unit will be reopen and services will be available again from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week. Working with our communities
We are working with our diverse communities across Sussex to ensure that people have information about the vaccine, how and when they might be contacted for a vaccination appointment and where they may need to go.
We know that community members are our best methods for sharing information; we now have over 100 Vaccination Champions from communities across Sussex, who play a vital role in ensuring that correct information is shared through their networks and contacts. We also link with many other individuals and groups who liaise with communities to ensure we can reach and hear from as many people as possible.
We are:
 Sharing videos about vaccination in community languages, and supporting the production of information in British Sign Language
 Ensuring that we share information about community language and British Sign Language interpretation with our communities and with our vaccination centres and sites
 Working with Carers’ support organisations across Sussex to develop bespoke information for unpaid carers
 Liaising with organisations that support people with Learning Disabilities to ensure they have appropriate information
 Liaison with local Faith leaders and groups to cascade information and to answer questions
 Working with organisations that support older people to ensure they are able to pass on information and answer questions
 Asking some of our community and patient groups to help us shape our communications work to make sure it is clear and appropriate
Our team are always happy to attend (virtually) any community meetings to hear people’s experiences and answer questions- please contact us on sxccg.publicinvolvement@nhs.net
We are keen to hear from people about their experience of the vaccination programme, the information you are receiving or not receiving, and your actual experience of having the vaccine – positive experiences and where there need to be improvements. Share your views through our survey, or tell us your story. Our survey will help us shape how we continue to roll out this vaccination programme to our communities over the coming weeks and months; it is open until Friday 27th February.
Advice and support if you’re self-isolating or shielding If you need extra help to get food, medicines or essentials during the coronavirus pandemic, or you are lonely and isolated, there is support available from East Sussex County Council. You may need extra help for a range of reasons, for example if you’re self-isolating with COVID-19 symptoms, following shielding guidance, avoiding public places because you’re at higher risk, or quarantining before a medical procedure. In the first instance, you’re encouraged to ask trusted family, friends and neighbours if they can help. If you don’t have anyone you trust living nearby, there is community support available. You can find out about services that can help with specific issues and what to do if you can’t get food, medicines, or are lonely and isolated on the community support web pages: eastsussex.gov.uk/covidsupport. This includes how to ask for help from NHS Volunteer Responders, and how to get in touch with the five community hubs in East Sussex. Anyone who feels they need extra support to cope during the pandemic and has no other way to get help can use a community hub. If you’re identified as clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) to coronavirus you are currently being advised to shield. Visit our website for advice and support if you’re in the shielded group: eastsussex.gov.uk/CEV. For more advice and information during COVID-19, and to sign up to coronavirus updates from East Sussex County Council, visit: eastsussex.gov.uk/coronavirus.
Frequently Asked Questions
We know that people want to know more about the vaccination programme and how it will affect them and their loved-ones.
To help us get information out to people and deal with the high volume of enquiries that we are receiving, we are regularly updating our FAQs on the Sussex Health and Care Partnership website, to address common questions and queries.
A selection of those questions are below:
Can I get a vaccination if I don’t have an NHS number?
Yes. People do not require an NHS number or GP registration to receive a vaccination and should never be denied one on this basis. Local leaders have been asked to take action to
ensure this is not the case. If someone does not have an NHS number but is within an eligible group, services have been advised to vaccinate now, record locally via a paper system, and ensure vaccination is formally documented later.
Will the vaccine affect my fertility?
The Royal College of Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives issued a statement on 19 January 2021, saying:
“There is no evidence to suggest that Covid-19 vaccines will affect fertility. Claims of any effect of Covid-19 vaccination on fertility are speculative and not supported by any data.”
What if I miss my appointment for either dose of the vaccine?
If you miss your appointment the vaccine team will attempt to rebook you, contacting you either by telephone, by letter, or both methods if necessary.
A full FAQ is available here: https://www.sussexhealthandcare.uk/keepsussexsafe/sussex-covid-19-vaccination-programme/faqs-about-the-covid-19-vaccine/
If you have a question about the Sussex COVID-19 vaccination programme, which is not answered in our FAQ document, please do let us know using the dedicated mailbox Sxccg.vaccineenquiries@nhs.net