St John Ambulance has today confirmed it has been approached to potentially train up thousands of volunteers to administer a COVID-19 vaccine.
This was first indicated to be the case in a Daily Mail report yesterday evening.
The paper reported that it has seen leaked plans for volunteers with no previous medical experience – the only criteria needed being that the volunteer is between the age of 18 and 69, have at least two or more A-Levels or equivalent, be at low risk of COVID-19, and be prepared to undergo a reference check – to be trained to administer the injections and potentially deal with any immediate adverse reactions.
It comes after last month when the legalities over who can administer a vaccine were extended.
This now includes independent nurses, allied healthcare professionals, paramedics, physiotherapists, pharmacists, and student nurses and doctors.
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said at the time: “These legal changes will help us in doing everything we can to make sure we are ready to roll out a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it has passed clinical trials and undergone rigorous checks by the regulator.”
Now, it has been today confirmed by the CEO of St John Ambulance today that the non-governmental organisation has been approached.
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Confirming that it had been asked to train extra vaccine volunteers, Richard Lee – CEO at St John Ambulance – said: “During the COVID-9 pandemic, St John volunteers have already given hundreds of thousands of hours of their time, supporting the NHS in caring for patients on board ambulances, in hospitals and as part of vital community projects such as this year’s seasonal flu vaccinations, and that work continues.”
He continued: “St John Ambulance is proud to have been asked to support NHS staff in getting ready to deliver a COVID-19 vaccination programme when one becomes available.
“Our role includes sourcing vaccinators within the new regulations set out by government and delivering official training from Public Health England, as well as recruiting many thousands more people in patient-facing support roles, such as patient advocates and first aiders at vaccination sites.”
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As well as vaccination volunteers, St John Ambulance is also recruiting “vaccination care volunteers”.
The role includes: “Supporting patients before or after their vaccination, providing reassurance and potentially dealing with medical emergencies.”
Just like the vaccine volunteers, all applicants who apply for St John Ambulance roles must be between the ages of 18 and 69, be at a low risk of contracting COVID-19, and must undergo and pass necessary reference checks.
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Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.
In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.
According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.
One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.
Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.
The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.
“A full flight schedule is expected to operate [today] but the airport may be busier due to rescheduled flights,” it added.
Passengers were then thanked for their ‘patience and understanding’ over the past 24 hours.
Featured Image – Ivan Shimko (via Unsplash)
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Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
The Manc -
17th November 2020 
