The Sir John Loveridge Hall at Beau Sejour was chosen as the Community Vaccination Centre because it met all of the key requirements.
While other options were assessed, such as the David Ferguson Hall, private sector premises and a bespoke drive-through facility at the North Beach car park, the Sir John Loveridge Hall provided a flexible location that can operate with full social distancing and full PPE for all staff, if required – effectively the site meets the requirement to account for a worst case scenario in being able to deliver the programme regardless of the island’s prevalence of Covid-19 at the time.
The Policy & Resources Committee as landlord and the Committee for Health & Social Care, which has responsibility for procurement and delivery of the vaccine, discussed an options appraisal and supported the selected site. The Community Vaccination Centre must have:
- Hard flooring which can be cleaned and disinfected easily
- Good access for those with mobility issues
- Sufficient provision of parking to accommodate a large number of traffic movements
- Closely served by public transport
- Storage areas for PPE, Equipment and fridges
- Reliable connectivity to the States of Guernsey Network
All options are being explored to support sports that are being displaced as a result of the choice of the Sir John Loveridge Hall.
Deputy Peter Ferbrache, President of the Policy & Resources Committee, said: “There were no easy solutions here but ensuring the most appropriate facility for the Community Vaccination Centre must be the priority. Other options were thoroughly considered but the Sir John Loveridge Hall satisfied all the requirements needed for the
safe rollout of the vaccination programme. We remain in the thick of managing our response to the pandemic and difficult decisions, which we understand will not always be universally popular, must be made. While inconvenient, it is an easier task to support sporting groups to find somewhere else to use than it is run a vaccination programme for the entire community.”
Dr Nicola Brink, Director of Public Health, said: “2020 has been an exceptional year and we have had to make some very challenging decisions which we know have impacted on the community in various ways. The decision to use the Sir John Loveridge Hall was not taken lightly. I am acutely aware of the benefit sporting activities have on people’s health and wellbeing and the hall will be used for the minimum possible time. We need to continue to work together as a community as we move into the vaccination phase #GuernseyTogether.”
Deputy Andrea Dudley-Owen, President of the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, said: “It is understandable that the sporting groups affected will be frustrated by being temporarily displaced from using the Sir John Loveridge Hall. The focus of our Committee and officers is on doing everything possible to support those sports by ensuring all other suitable facilities are explored.”
