Hinckley Leisure Centre goes live as a Covid-19 vaccination centre

One of the first residents to receive their vaccination was Mrs Jane Whitlock (82) from Hinckley who said “I am so looking forward to getting out and about again, exercising and meeting friends.”

From this week all 132 GP practices across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will now be providing either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccinations to all eligible patients. 

Locally the Hinckley Leisure Centre will cover patients from the following GP surgeries: Castlemead, Maples, Centre Surgery, Station View, The Orchard Medical Practice, Barwell and Hollycroft Medical Centre, Old School Surgery and Burbage Surgery. 

You don’t need to do anything you will be contacted by your GP when it’s your turn. Please don’t telephone your GP as staff are busy making appointments.

You may be aware that a large number of people aged 80 and above and others in a priority group for the Covid vaccine have been contacted by text and letter inviting them to make a vaccination appointment in Birmingham. The invitations were sent by NHS nationally and not by local GP surgeries or hospital. If patients cannot get to Birmingham or if it would not be safe for them to travel please await contact from your GP surgery. Patients should also be aware that both doses of the vaccine need to be given at the same venue so if a patient does go to Birmingham for the first dose they must return there for the second dose, they cannot have the second dose more locally.

Council Leader, Councillor Stuart Bray said: 

It’s important to provide a local venue that as many of our residents as possible can access easily, so the council has worked closely with NHS partners to transform part of Hinckley Leisure Centre into a vaccination centre.

The roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme is a positive way out of the disruption and tragedy arising from Covid-19. The council is keen to help in any way it can to support the battle against this virus and get everyone’s lives back to normal as soon as possible.

Dr Arshad Khalid, Clinical Director at Fosseway PCN, said:

On behalf of Hinckley Central and Fosseway practices we are delighted to start our Covid-19 vaccination programme from Hinckley Leisure Centre. Once underway we will secure further supplies of vaccine and accelerate delivery to our patients at the site which is local to them. Thank you for your patience and we look forward to welcoming you soon.