How you can volunteer for St John Ambulance and help the vaccination rollout in Northamptonshire

Vaccination volunteer Peter Shergold with his parents – and fellow vaccination volunteers – David and Jayne Shergold

St John Ambulance is looking for volunteers to help support the vaccination rollout in Northamptonshire

Extra vaccination care volunteers and vaccination patient Advocates – who look after people before, during and after they receive their injections – are required.

You can apply online now: https://vaccinationregistration.sja.org.uk/122627TST and applications need to be in as soon as possible so that training can be completed this month (March 2021).

Peter vaccinating St John Ambulance volunteer Rose Bennett

St John Ambulance’s Peter Shergold is the director responsible for getting more than 30,000 vaccination volunteers recruited and trained. He has also been spending time on the frontline, including working in vaccination centres near his home in the midlands.

“This has all been a huge challenge and a real test of our resilience but this is what St John is here for and the result – seeing our people in NHS vaccination centres, caring for people and getting them vaccinated against this terrible virus – makes it all worthwhile,” said Peter.

“Alongside my work, I am proud to have been a vaccination volunteer over the past couple of months; the interactions with members of the members of the public are very brief when you’re delivering an injection, but you can tell what a difference it’s making to them.

“It can be very emotional, and when you’re in the care volunteer or advocate role, you get to hear such wonderful stories and meet some amazing people.

“For a lot of them, this is the first time they’ve been out in ages, or the key to them getting to see family and friends again one day.

“It’s a real privilege to share those special moments and I can wholeheartedly recommend the experience – this will definitely be something to tell the grandkids about many years from now.”

The available voluntary roles with St John Ambulance are open to anyone between the ages of 16 and 69 inclusive. A number of other restrictions apply, but full details are available via the application pages online.