Take a look inside Stoke-on-Trent's new mass Covid vaccination centre which will deliver 1,000 jabs a day

Around 1,000 people a day will receive the Covid-19 jab at Stoke-on-Trent's new mass vaccination centre.

The facility at Daniel Platt Busines Park in Tunstall opened its doors for the first time on Monday, as the latest step in the local roll-out of the coronavirus vaccine.

Front-line care workers are being invited to receive their jab this week, but from next week the centre will be welcoming members of the public as well.

NHS and council officials spent four weeks converting an empty industrial unit into a community vaccination facility, complete with a check-in area, four vaccination bays and a waiting area.

It is the first of three mass vaccination centres planned for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, with facilities opening in Stafford and Alrewras over the next two weeks.

Vaccinations have previously been carried out at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, 20 GP practices and by mobile teams.

Neil Carr, chief executive of Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and senior responsible officer for the vaccination programme, says the three community sites will significantly increase capacity. While the immediate aim is to get up to 1,000 jabs a day by next Monday, even higher numbers will be possible with the addition of more bays.

Mr Carr said: "What makes this place important is the volume, the numbers. The GP practices have been amazing, they've done over 100,000 vaccines, but the reality is that was the over-80s, care home residents and the clinically most vulnerable.

"Once you've done those priority groups, we need to open it up to the public, and means having accessible places where we can manage volume. Once we're up to capacity we could have up to 14,000 people a week here – and this will be one of three, so you can see how the numbers will start to increase."

Members of the public who are in line to receive a jab will be contacted and invited to book a slot at the Tunstall centre from next week.

When they arrive they will be checked in by a trained clinical assessor, who will ensure they are safe to be vaccinated.

They will then be directed to one of four bays to receive the jab, and then sit in a socially distanced waiting area for 15 minutes before leaving.

Care worker Russell Bettany, who happened to be celebrating his 47th birthday, was the first of 300 people to be vaccinated at the Tunstall site on Monday.

Russell, from Etruria, said: "It has been good to get a Covid jab for my birthday.

"I deal with very vulnerable people on a daily basis. While I tend to just see one person a day, meaning contact is minimal for transmission, it's still always there at the back of your mind.

"When I was told I would be getting the vaccine I was relieved, as I'd been waiting for it. As soon as I got the message I was straight onto the phone to book myself in.

"It's a great facility, very well organised. The people here do fill you with confidence."

Community care worker Jane Baxter also received her jab at the Tunstall centre.

The 64-year-old, from Talke Pits, said: "It feels great to have the vaccine. I couldn't wait. As soon as I was told I could get it, if I could have had it there and then I would have done.

"I'll have more peace of mind when I get the second one. It's all about getting back to more positive things, like going to see my family."

The NHS has been working closely with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to set up the Tunstall centre.

Council leader Abi Brown said: "Today is a significant day for Stoke-on-Trent. We've got the mass vaccination centre with the potential to vaccinate up to 1,000 people a day, so hopefully this will be the turning point for Stoke-on-Trent in the fight against coronavirus."