Brighton Centre in Sussex and former Debenhams in Kent open as vaccine centres
Video report by ITV News Meridian's Tom Savvides
A former Debenhams department store in Folkestone and the Brighton Centre conference venue has opened up as the largest vaccination centres in Kent and Sussex.
The sites are among 32 additional mass inoculation hubs opening this week across England, bringing the total to 49.
The new facility at the Folca building in Folkestone, which closed its doors as a Debenhams in January 2020, is to be the “first large-scale COVID-19 vaccination centre in Kent”, according to the Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT).
Dr Sarah Phillips, Medical Director for KCHFT, said: “Kent and Medway has been hit hard by the highly transmissible new variant of COVID-19, so we’re delighted to be able to open our first public, large-scale vaccination centre.
“We will be starting with everyone aged 75 years and over, including the over 80s who haven’t yet received their vaccine, and letters will be sent to people living within a 45-minute drive of the site.”
The venue will be administering jabs from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week, when it opens to priority groups from Tuesday (26 January). Like all NHS vaccination venues, it will run on an appointment-only basis.
Watch: Locals in Folkestone react to news of vaccine centre
In Sussex, the Brighton Centre – best known for hosting countless political party conferences over the decades – has been transformed into the largest vaccination centre in the county and will also operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week.
It vaccinated health and social care staff on Monday (25 January) before opening for public priority groups – such as the over-80s – on Tuesday.
Those eligible and living within 60 miles of the venue are being invited to attend.
There has been some criticism of the pace and consistency of the vaccination rollout, particularly in Kent and parts of Sussex, with many local MPs calling for mass vaccination facilities to be established in the counties in recent days.
The new large hubs are capable of delivering thousands of vaccinations each week, depending on vaccine supplies and local demand.
Siobhan Melia, Chief Executive of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, described setting up the Brighton Centre venue as a “phenomenal challenge”.
She added: “From the recruitment and training of hundreds of new members of staff, to the logistics of transforming this entertainment venue to a vaccination centre, our teams have been working around the clock to make sure we are in a position to get this vaccination centre up and running for the communities we serve.”
Eligible residents living within 60 miles of the Brighton Centre will be invited for appointments, with those attending offered a free one-hour parking slot at the nearby Churchill Square Orange Car Park.
The new large vaccination centres are in addition to local GP-led services and hospitals.
More information about the NHS England COVID-19 vaccination programme is available on its website.
The service is asking people to wait to receive appointment letter or telephone calls and not to contact vaccination venues directly.