NHS set to leave City Hall following successful vaccination drive

After a successful partnership between Wiltshire Council and the NHS, City Hall in Salisbury will host its last vaccination clinic on 28 January -  a venue which has seen almost 290,000 vaccinations administered since January 2021.

At the time of writing, 287,923 vaccinations have been administered at City Hall since the start of the pandemic - which has helped to deliver 10.7% of the total COVID-19 vaccinations in the region. During the COVID-19 surge in 2021, 1,700 vaccinations in a day were carried out

Wiltshire Council continues to look at options for City Hall, including re-engaging with the industry to seek partners for running the venue. A recent bid for the Government's Levelling Up Funding submitted to help with improvements to Salisbury's cultural offer was unsuccessful but the council's preliminary market consultation has taken place to better understand the type of arrangement a third-party operator would potentially enter into.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: We were happy that we were able to work in partnership supporting our NHS colleagues using the City Hall as a successful vaccination centre to help the residents of Wiltshire through the COVID-19 pandemic.

In terms of the venue itself, whilst it's unfortunate that we were unsuccessful in our bid for Levelling Up funding for City Hall we continue to work hard to look at the options available and we'll keep people as updated as possible throughout this process.

Hayley Morgan, Consultant in Public Health for Wiltshire, said, Having a vaccination centre at City Hall has been great asset in the COVID-19 response, and we want to congratulate our NHS colleagues for helping to protect so many people across the county. Whilst City Hall will no longer be a vaccination centre, you can still get vaccinated at other Wiltshire locations to protect yourself and your family.

Gill May, Chief Nurse, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, said: City Hall has been an essential site for our vaccination program for more than two years, and has helped to deliver over 10% of total COVID-19 vaccinations in our region.

And while it is bittersweet to leave this venue after so long, we do so in a much better place, with the vast majority of our population now vaccinated against COVID-19, and the height of the pandemic firmly behind us.

Of course, we will continue to keep a close eye on COVID-19, and should there be a need to stand-up a large vaccination site in Salisbury in the future, we will absolutely be ready to go again.

Other vaccination clinics continue to run across Wiltshire.  Anyone who would like further details of how to get a COVID-19 vaccination should visit www.bsw.icb.nhs.uk (opens new window).