Kippa Ring vaccination clinic staff

To the amazing COH vaccination team, to say I am proud of our achievement is an understatement, I could not be any more proud!  I can’t say that it was all smooth sailing.

Since March last year we certainly met many challenges, developed new skills, learnt, became media savvy, collaborated with the private sector and worked in places I would never image we would deliver health care.

From a nursing perspective, I would like to acknowledge the nursing leaders who I asked so often stand up and go above and beyond – Sue, Danica, Mel, Tony, Naomi and Ruth.

I would also like to acknowledge the support that we got from the Safety and Quality Team and nurse educators who came and worked with us when the surge of activity was overwhelming.

The clinical nurses and registered nurses made up the majority of the workforce and were the backbone of the service every day.

The service could not have been operational without our nursing graduates who often came on board with varying degrees of anxiety but through the support of the other registered nurses, stepped up and become such an important part of the service.

The vaccine service AINs were so much the front door of the vaccination clinic and important to create a positive public perception of our service.

The administration team has always contributed so much to the smooth running of the vaccination clinics. Their professionalism when dealing with the public, answering the numerous questions and providing a calm atmosphere, helped prepare our vaccination recipients for each stage of the vaccination service.

The pharmacy team lead by Anne-Marie and Mel have always been the engine room in the background, producing the vaccine, monitoring the activity, timing the next vaccine production, responding to the inevitable surges in activity, managing the vaccine supply and reporting on our usage every day.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge 1300medics. This collaboration ensured that we were able to prevent so many transfers to hospital and to provide high quality assessment, treatment and care on-site.

It has been a privilege to lead the vaccination team since March 2021. In a career it is rare that you get the opportunity to make such an enormous impact on the community that you live within, but all the members of the COH vaccination team will always be able to remember this time with great pride.

Every day, this team came to work and made a positive difference. As we close this chapter of our career, we know it has been a job well done.

Mary Wheeldon
COVID Clinical Response Services
Community and Oral Health