Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Leeds Beckett University helping in vital fight against Covid-19
As soon as the details were released for the national vaccination campaign, the university was asked by the Leeds Health and Care Academy to use its nursing expertise within the School of Health to train 300 people.
So far, 200 existing NHS staff and those returning from retirement have been through the training and next month 100 healthcare students, who will be contracted by the NHS to administer the Covid-19 vaccines, will receive their training.
Vaccine training is only part of the help LBU is offering. Next month it will also be running six weekly sessions in Basic Life Support, Anaphylaxis and intramuscular injection technique. Around 150 learners will be supported by the weekly sessions to tie the varied aspects of their training together.
Paul Mackreth, a Course Director in the School of Health at LBU and a District Nurse, has been in charge of the training: “Being able to offer specific Covid-19 immunisation training has helped us feel that we have all played our part in getting the nation vaccinated.
“Responding quickly to training has been challenging alongside maintaining and managing the assessment, learning and teaching for our existing students on health courses. It has required a team effort to release staff from existing commitments.
“Supporting our health students remains a priority and offering time for NHS colleagues has been essential.”
Last year, LBU also helped train and update 350 vaccinators within the NHS workforce and adapted the training to support 100 Foundation Dentists who wanted to help with the wider vaccination campaign.