Sutton NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme

The NHS in Sutton has made a strong start rolling out the biggest vaccination programme in NHS history.  Our priority remains vaccinating the most vulnerable people in our communities and our front-line health and care professionals.

Everyone has an important part to play to help us with this programme of work

  • The NHS will let you know when it’s your turn to have the vaccine. It’s important not to contact the NHS for a vaccination before then.
  • When we do contact you, please attend your booked appointments.
  • Please don’t go to a vaccination site without an appointment. Appointments are only available by invitation – you can’t request one from your GP – so please be patient and wait to be contacted.
  • Please continue to follow all the guidance to control the virus and save lives – hands, face, space.
Your Covid-19 vaccination questions answered

How and where are we delivering the vaccine to Sutton residents

When it’s your turn to be vaccinated, the NHS will contact you and invite you to a local Sutton centre.  You may also receive a letter from the National Booking System, where you can book an appointment directly or wait for your local GP to contact you.  

GP vaccination sites

GP practices across Sutton are working together to carry out vaccinations at Nonsuch Mansion – the dedicated vaccination site. This means that you may be invited to Nonsuch Mansion to receive your vaccination, rather than your GP surgery.

  • Please don’t contact your GP to request an appointment.
  • Please don’t go to the vaccination site if you don’t have an appointment.

It’s very important that you don’t go to the vaccination site without an appointment. Appointments are only available by invitation – you can’t request one from your GP – so please be patient and wait to be contacted by your GP or the NHS.

St Helier Hospital vaccination hub

Epsom and St Helier Hospital launched their first clinic at the St Helier site on 28 December. The team successfully delivered their first 975 doses to Health Care Staff and other vulnerable staff and patient groups. The programme is going well and they have expanded it to the Epsom site this week.

Next steps to further expand the programme

Large vaccination centres

  • Across South West London, as well as hospital hubs and GP-led sites, we are working to bring on line other community vaccination centres to help further expand our capacity to deliver the vaccine programme. We hope to be able to share information about sites in Sutton over the coming weeks.
  • Across South West London we have been running a large scale campaign to recruit teams to manage and deliver vaccines at these centres across our six boroughs.
  • In Sutton, we are also currently running a volunteer recruitment campaign which has generated a good response, and Volunteer Centre Sutton are coordinating local volunteer recruitment.

Who is being prioritised to receive vaccines first

The government has set out the challenging ambition of vaccinating all those in the top four priority groups by February 2020 as set out in the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

At this time, the vaccine is being offered to:

  • care home residents and people who work in care homes
  • people aged 70 and over
  • health and care workers

We expect the majority of over 80s to have been offered the vaccine by the end of January, though over 80s will be able to come forward and receive the vaccine throughout the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

Find out how the over 80s are getting the vaccine
Read more about why some people are being prioritised

Care home staff, residents and front line care workers

  • Before the first vaccines were delivered in early December we began to work with care homes across all our boroughs to reach out to care home staff as a top priority group.
  • Around 4,000 care home workers out of about 14,000 across South West London have come forward and we will continue to work hard to encourage them to do so.
  • We are working closely with council colleagues to coordinate vaccine appointments for front line social care workers including front line domiciliary and agency staff.

Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine approval and new guidance on the second dose

  • The approval of the UK-developed and manufactured Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine provides a major boost to our plans to offer protection to those who would benefit most as quickly as possible. 
  • This new vaccine is easier to transport and store, which means it is perfect for helping to vaccinate many more people in our communities – including more residents in care homes and for the over 70s who are housebound in their own homes.
  • Some of our PCN sites will begin to receive supplies of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine from this week.
  • The Government has decided to increase the gap between the two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from three to four weeks to up to three months.
  • This new guidance on the period between doses is important as it means that we will be to get the maximum benefit for the most people in the shortest possible time and will help save lives.
  • We will now be focussing on giving the first dose of the vaccine to as many people and front line health and care staff as possible.

How people are being invited to have their Covid-19 vaccine appointments

  • The NHS will continue to contact people directly to invite them to receive the vaccine – when it is their turn, they will receive an invitation for an appointment.
  • This may be via the phone, text message or letter from a Sutton GP practice or or a letter from the National Booking Service.
  • If you have received a letter inviting you to book a coronavirus vaccination, you can book it. Please do not try to book a vaccination if you have not received a letter.  You may also wait to be contacted by a Croydon GP if you cannot book a local vaccine appointment.
    Sutton Health and Care are working with GP Practices to provide vaccinations for those patients who are housebound and would require a home visit, who may be contacted for their vaccine by their GP Practice or by the Community Nursing Team.  If those people who are housebound are offered an appointment at a centre, they should talk to their GP or respond to the contact details in their invitation.
  • As Sutton has a high number of older people and care home residents, many over 80s will not yet have been contacted.
  • We expect the majority of over 80s to have been offered the vaccine by the end of January, though over 80s will be able to come forward and receive the vaccine throughout the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
  • Everyone is being asked to wear a face covering to their appointment.

How we are talking to local people

  • We know that in Sutton some of our communities are more vaccine hesitant than others. 
  • We are engaging with local communities to give people the chance to ask local experts about the vaccine so that they can make informed decisions and we can understand any concerns they may have.
  • In partnership with Sutton Health Champions, including Sutton Councillors, Resident Associations, Ward Coordinators, local volunteers, we held an engagement event to share key messages and reach the wider Sutton population through our champions and their wide reach to Sutton residents. Engagement with the Health Champions will be held frequently to ensure we are reaching the right groups of patients who are hesitant about the Covid vaccination.
  • We have planned engagement events to reach local BAME communities and residents living in the most deprived areas of the borough.
  • We will be holding briefing sessions with our key partners through the voluntary sector, Sutton Healthwatch and Sutton LA social care teams to reach vulnerable adults who fall in the priority groups and increase uptake of Covid vaccination for those most hesitant.
  • We will work alongside our patient reference group, BAME Equality Group, and others to reach the priority groups.  

More information