NHS pop-up vaccination centre at Stamford Bridge

More than 5,000 people attended Stamford Bridge’s NHS pop-up vaccination centre on Saturday, which also saw Chairman Bruce Buck and London Mayor Sadiq Khan visit to see the centre in action.

The pop-up vaccination centre was the result of a dialogue between the NHS and the club, having originally been suggested by Imperial Healthcare medical director Professor Julian Redhead, with Sadiq Khan attending on the day to show his appreciation for the Blues’ assistance in the capital’s vaccination effort.

With the government lead objective to provide vaccine to the 18+ we had only 5 days to coordinate the pop up centre.

Several site inspections were conducted to review the space available (around the vast number of on site projects currently taking place) the customer journey was imperative to smooth running event. Bookings were accepted at 600 people per hour.

Health and safety were engaged to ensure the route was safe around the site works.

The day was run with military precision to ensure that the 5,000 pre-booked Pfizer vaccinations, plus the 650-capacity walk-ins, would run smoothly.

Meetings & events manager Lucy Adamson led a team from multiple club departments, from Security, Facilities, Maintenance and IT, and refreshments provided by Levy’s. The team had five days to organise the day, with set up starting on the Wednesday before.

‘We had NHS staff in from 7am on the vaccine day to start the clinical set up and people started to turn up for their jabs from 8.30am, with doors open at 10am,’ says Lucy. ‘From that time until close at 8pm, we saw an average of 600 people have their jabs per hour, around 80 of which were walk-ins.’

The Canoville Suite was the vaccine and vaccine prep area, while 1905 provided NHS staff with a rest room throughout the day. The club also provided security stewards to ensure that queues were manned, and cleaners to ensure that standards were met within the areas of use.

‘The lead-up to the event was busy, almost frantic at times, as it was such short lead. I was supported by our security and stewards’ teams, who assisted with stadium plans and information, which aided the coordination and relay of information back to NHS, the council and the police,’ adds Lucy. ‘We had to be prepared for mass walk-ins, anti-vax protestors, plus London was already busy with Euro events.’

On the day it was like a factory of people. All staff were on the go all the time. It was constant and everyone was key to making it as seamless as possible. There was a great sense of pride and we were all on a high and it was such a team effort. All visitors were hugely appreciative and enjoyed the CFC experience. It was a privilege and honour to work with the NHS team, who were incredible.