Flu vaccinations were example of Exmouth pulling together
The Exmouth flu vaccination drive-through. Picture: Dr Barry Coakley - Credit: Barry Coakley
A Flu vaccination drive through was an example of Exmouth GPs coming together for the greater good of the town.
Dr Barry Coakley, who had the vision for the project, has praised all those who made the flu jab clinic possible over three weekends at the Maer Road Car Park.
Over the space of a month, Claremont Medical Practice and Haldon House Surgery came together to provide the drive-through clinic with the support of East Devon District Council which supplied the car park.
More than 1,500 vaccinations were administered per day – something Dr Coakley – clinical director of the Woodbury, Exmouth and Budleigh primary car network – said had caught the attention of health services across Devon.
Dr Coakley paid tribute to everyone who made the vaccination drive-through possible.
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He thanked Dave Moore, of Brookland Events, for his help and said it was the hard work of the practice managers Debbie Sargant, Chris Ladbrook and Zoe Newey that brought the event together.
Dr Coakley added: “This is a wonderful example of GP Practices coming together for the benefit of the Exmouth Community.
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“It is a credit to all the nurses, HCAs and admin teams from each Practice.”
The GP surgeries also had volunteer support from Exmouth Running Belles and Tri-Hards, who safely marshalled the vehicles around the site.
Dr Coakley said: “The volunteers exemplified the spirit of Exmouth with their generosity and good humour. Their help over all three weekends was fantastic and we would like to publicly thank them for their efforts.” Following the success of the drive-through some residents have asked whether it could be used to administer a possible Covid-19 vaccination.
Dr Coakley said: “We feel that our drive-thru model is a perfect solution to ensuring that the maximum number of people can get the Covid-19 vaccination quickly and safely.
“The news of a Covid-19 vaccination is certainly very exciting and I am pleased to report that all seven Practices in the Woodbury Exmouth and Budleigh area have agreed to come together to deliver this at scale.
“We will be working closely with Devon CCG and NHS England to make this happen for our community.”
