Coronavirus in Scotland: Holiday coach converted into mobile Covid-19 vaccination unit

A holiday coach has been converted into a mobile Covid-19 vaccination unit run by the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

The coach, which was offered free of charge by Lochs and Glens Holidays of Gartocharn, is expected to deliver vaccines to 400 people in remote and rural Tayside this week, operating out of Stanley, Perthshire.

An Ambulance Service car staffed by a SAS trained vaccinator has also been visiting housebound patients’ homes in rural Perthshire to vaccinate them.

First doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been delivered to clinically vulnerable patients and those aged 70 to 79.

Picture: Scottish Ambulance Service

The pilot coach and car initiative will be developed by the SAS and Scottish Government and rolled out to other health boards in due course. Appointments are booked with GP practices.

Mobile vaccination units are a key aspect of the Scottish Government’s rollout to more rural areas.

Scottish Ambulance Service Medical director Jim Ward said: “This is a great initiative in the fight against Covid-19. We have already vaccinated more than 5,000 of our own staff, Community First Responders and students, which has been a fantastic effort by everyone involved.

“The bus is essentially a mobile vaccination clinic that can access remote and rural Scotland, providing a sheltered place where people can come and get vaccinated in a safe environment by trained healthcare professionals. The car will allow people who cannot leave their homes to be vaccinated.

“We have received great feedback from the people who have been vaccinated on the bus and also by those who have been visited at their homes. We are very grateful to Lochs and Glens Holidays for providing the bus and look forward to working alongside other health boards and Scottish Government colleagues in developing the initiative and rolling it out to other areas of Scotland.”

Dr Daniel Chandler, Associate Director of Public Health at NHS Tayside, said, “The vaccination programme is progressing well in Tayside with over 60,000 people already vaccinated across Dundee, Angus and Perth & Kinross.

“This mobile service provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service will help provide extra capacity to support our GPs and community vaccination teams as we move into the next phase of the programme.”

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