This weekend staff and residents at Woodland View, a nursing home for people who have complex needs, received their COVID-19 vaccinations.
The jabs are being given to care home staff and residents as they fall into the government’s priority groups for vaccination. In the space of one afternoon the majority of the 71 staff and the 27 residents were vaccinated, they all received a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Residents at Woodland View have complex needs so they receive specialist support from staff at the home. The nursing home is run by Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust.
Jack Woodhouse, aged 83 was amongst the first of the residents to get his jab. Jack is a retired steel works manager at Sheffield Forgemasters. He is a grandad to four teenage grandchildren. Jack and his wife Doreen celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary last year but couldn’t celebrate in the style they may have liked because of the visiting restrictions in place due to COVID-19.
Jack’s wife Doreen said; ‘I am really pleased that Jack is able to get his jab, I had mine on Friday. The staff at Woodland View have been really wonderful, they have kept the residents safe during this awful time. They look after the residents and us relatives too, they make me feel that I matter. Jack getting his jab means we are one step closer to being able to spend time together like we used to. Sitting together, talking and looking at pictures of our grandchildren.’
James Sherwin is one of the managers at Woodland View and also a registered nurse, speaking after receiving his vaccination he said; ‘This is such an important moment for us all at Woodland View and also all the other care homes across the country who will start getting their vaccines.
‘We’ve dealt with this dreadful virus at Woodland View and we’ve seen how it can impact on staff and residents. We went into early lockdown in March and while we put in place measures to prevent the spread of infection, COVID-19 did eventually spread to us last year.
‘I wanted the jab because I want to come to work knowing I am doing my very best to protect my team, our residents and my friends and family too. It is so important to us because we want relatives at Woodland View to be able to visit their loved ones again without worry and fear of the risks.’
Staff and residents at Woodland View are due to receive their second jabs in the next 12 weeks. We are hopeful that thanks to the roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine Jack and Doreen will be able to celebrate their wedding anniversary in style this year.
