The vaccination situation at the Royal Free Charity Recreation Club premises

• WE write in response to the letter and picture (Proper safety measures were not in place here, January 21), and wish to reassure your readers that rigorous patient safety measures are in place.

The safety of all visiting, working and volunteering at the Rec vaccination centre is of the utmost importance to us.

In order to operate as a Covid-19 vaccination site, the site was reviewed by the planning team and continues to be monitored, with patient and staff safety being paramount.

To walk you through the process:

The main entrance to the centre is always manned during opening hours by two volunteer marshals.

Patients are let in one at a time (unless a carer is needed) after having sanitised their hands with alcohol gel, and checked to ensure that they are wearing an adequate face covering.

The queue is regularly reviewed by the marshals and other staff members.

Inside the centre there is also strict spacing reflecting social distancing guidelines for inside spaces. We have worked closely with the council and police to ensure we manage queues and crowds accordingly.

Patient feedback from those who have used the service has been overwhelmingly positive with many commenting on how safe and reassured they had felt, as well as the efficiency of the service.

We are enormously proud of what has been achieved in a very tight time frame to be part of the delivery of the largest whole-population immunisation programme ever to have been undertaken by the NHS.

We have been greatly touched and humbled by the enthusiasm of those many Camden residents and health care workers who have given up their time and stepped forward to work as volunteers at the centre.

TOM ASLAN & ANDREW STUART
Clinical directors

LIZ AVITAL
Senior Operational Manager
North Camden
Primary Care Network