Become a Volunteer Vaccinator!

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If you are in a priority group and have not been offered a Covid-19 vaccination appointment yet, please do not worry – the NHS will offer you one soon.

The NHS will continue to contact people directly to invite them to receive the vaccine when it is their turn. This may be via the phone, text message or letter from a Croydon GP practice.

Please note that these letters will not give you a specific appointment time, they will provide a number for you to ring in order to book your slot, so there is no danger of you missing out on a vaccination appointment if your post has been delayed.

The NHS is working flat out to offer the vaccine as quickly and safely as they can. But the they need our help and support to get everyone vaccinated as quickly as possible.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked St John Ambulance to support its mass vaccination programme.

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, St John’s highly skilled 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.

All of that work continues, and the charity has now been tasked with training thousands of volunteers ready to administer COVID-19 vaccinations as soon as they are available.

Between now and spring 2021, they have plans to train more than 30,000 volunteers. Using their longstanding expertise, they will empower people like you to deliver these vital jabs and take care of people before and after they receive them.

There are 3 roles specific to the vaccination programme:

  • Volunteer Vaccinator
  • Vaccination Care Volunteer
  • Volunteer Patient Advocate

Some people, specifically the Volunteer Vaccinators, will be able to give vaccinations, but others are there to support people as they go through the process of having the flu or COVID-19 vaccination.

To find out more about becoming a Volunteer Vaccinator, please click here.

Have Your Say – Croydon Council Libraries Consultation

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Why are we doing this?
The council is currently facing severe financial challenges, which means we will need to be clear about our priorities and make some tough decisions about what we will and won’t do over the next few years. Some services will stop and others, such as our library service, will have to change. But, by focussing on a smaller number of priorities for our residents, we will make sure that we are delivering good quality services, where they will have the biggest impact.

We are committed to delivering a comprehensive and efficient library service, which operates within the reduced resources available. This means that we are having to look at either closing some of our library buildings, or find an alternative that would not require any council funding.

The council currently runs 13 libraries in the borough, and we are proposing reducing this to eight. By doing this it will allow us to continue providing a comprehensive library service that meets the needs of our community.

When considering library buildings to include in our proposals we have looked at building operating and maintenance costs, how visitors use the service, and how close they are to other libraries – more details on this is provided on the Croydon Council Libraries Consultation website.

What do we want to know?
At this stage of our consultation we want to hear your views on the proposals, ideas for our library service and suggestions for alternative ways we could use library buildings. We will use this information to help us further develop our options and consult you again on these, before taking a proposal to cabinet for a decision in summer 2021.

To request this information and questionnaire in a different format, email: librariesconsultation@croydon.gov.uk or call 020 7884 5159.

Please complete the survey by 7 March.

Public consultation timetable:

Initial consultation on proposals begins 14 January 2021
Initial consultation ends (survey closes) 7 March 2021
Consultation outcome & options report April 2021
Consultation finishes May 2021
Final report June 2021
Final decision Summer 2021
Implementation September 2021 (expected)