Staff from Somerset’s Local Authorities have helped to speed up the county’s vaccination programme by making thousands of calls to organise vaccine appointments.
Throughout the course of the pandemic, the contact centres of Somerset’s five councils have joined forces to support the people of Somerset and the NHS.
During that time the contact centre staff and redeployed staff have been supporting Somerset’s NHS Primary Care Networks by booking residents in for vaccination appointments.
In total council staff made approximately 133,693 phone calls and booked in 32,303 appointments across Somerset.
As of June 13, 2021, a total of 687,694 vaccinations have been given in Somerset, and the success of the vaccination roll out has contributed to significant falls in infections, hospitalisations and deaths from the virus.
This work has been an example of successful collaboration between Somerset’s five councils and the NHS and wouldn’t have been possible without the commitment and dedication of staff across these organisations.
The partnership working that made the vaccination bookings support possible was built on the success of the Coronavirus Helpline, which has received more than 14,000 calls to date.
Set up at the start of the pandemic by Somerset’s Local Authorities working together with partner organisations such as Mindline and the Community Council for Somerset, the Coronavirus Helpline has provided a single point of contact for anyone in need of Covid-19 related support over the past year.
The Helpline number is 0300 790 6275, and is available seven days a week, from 8am to 6pm, offering a range of support from help accessing food and medicines, to emotional and financial support, as well as employment, skills and business advice.