Sheffield Arena transformed into new Covid vaccination centre – and it opens today

The centre opens at 10am today and is in addition to over 30 primary care sites across the region where GPs and their teams are vaccinating.

In the first instance people aged 75 and over, who live within a 45 minute drive of the Arena, will receive a letter from the national NHS booking service inviting them to book a vaccination at the venue. If they already have an appointment at their local GP vaccination hub they can disregard the letter.

The Arena will operate seven days a week and will be run by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals on behalf of the NHS national vaccination programme.

Dr Jennifer Hill, Medical Director (Operations) at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “GPs, nurses, pharmacists and countless other NHS staff, partners and volunteers are pulling out all the stops to deliver the vaccination programme as quickly as we can.

“It is tribute to their hard work that we have already vaccinated thousands of our most vulnerable residents. The Arena opening today is another step forward in rolling out the vaccination programme.

“We are asking people to help us by not turning up at the Arena unless they have an appointment as we cannot vaccinate people ad hoc.”

She added: “As well as NHS colleagues, I would also like to thank the team at the Arena who have been simply amazing. First they supported us to create a drive through blood testing service so that our most vulnerable patients could still have their blood tests safely and now they have been instrumental in our planning for the vaccination programme roll out.”

Andrew Snelling, Chief Executive of Sheffield City Trust, which runs the Arena, said: “We’re very proud of the role Sheffield Arena has played as part of the city’s response; from providing extra storage for equipment to providing a drive-through blood testing facility used by over 50,000 cars.

“As an organisation, our core values are promoting and enhancing the health and wellbeing of communities, so we’re happy to support Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, the NHS and the Government, in being able to provide whatever is required to deliver this vaccination programme.”

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